The Source
2018 annual review of Wetlands InternationalFor
peat’ssake!
Mangroves
are soooo
sexy…
Restoring the bofedales page 14
Infernal floods wash over Kerala page 22
Vjosa river: A wild and untouched queen page 62

Introduction
to Annual
Review 2018
Welcome to “The Source”: so named because wetlands are the source of water that
supports all life.
We are proud of our achievements and hopethat this magazine-style review of our workin 2018 connects with you and provides
insight into some of our most exciting andchallenging work around the world.
2018 has been a very productive year
for the organisation, with several major
programmes commencing, the joining ofsignificant global partnerships and ouroffices gaining strength and influence inall regions – most notably Eastern Africa,
South America and South Asia. In 2018, wewere able to intensify our work to assess
the significance of particular wetlands forwaterbird migration, to extend our work inpeatland re-wetting, scale up our efforts tosecure and revive mangroves and to engage
on issues concerning wetlands in cities. Ourability to upscale our reach and impact has
been boosted significantly by the possibility
to make strategic investments, thanks to
the Dutch National Postcode Lottery grant
received early in the year.
Numerous national and regional events, plus
the occasions of the 13th Ramsar Conference of Parties and 24th Conference of Parties of UNFCCC, provided good opportunity
to share our experiences, promote our key
messages, to engage with our stakeholders
2 2018 annual review

and to forge new alliances. In these fora, thetopics of ecosystem approaches to building
resilience, climate mitigation and adaptation, Building with Nature and nature-based
solutions, blue carbon, water security andenvironmental peace building have beenprevalent. New collaborations were initiatedwith architects and water engineering
companies, as well as with NGOs specialisedin forecasting climate shifts and preventing
violent conflicts. This illustrates the breadthof our work as well as the need for us towork in many multi-sector partnerships.
In this magazine, our dedicated staff, partners and Supervisory Council members talkdirectly about their work and what it means
to them. We highlight some interesting andspecial achievements of the year and chart
progress towards our long-term strategic
goals. The details of the administrative andfinancial accounts and references are accessible by clicking through to annexes.
I hope that you find The Source informativeand inspiring! We welcome your feedback.
Finally, I would like to thank all of ourmembers, our donors and partners, associate experts and specialist groups for yourcontinued support and collaboration, which
we value dearly and rely on going forward.
Jane Madgwick
Chief Executive Officer
2018 annual review 3

For peat’s
sake!
Joint initiative PaludiFor to savepeatlands in Indonesia

Restoringthebofedales
Wetland conservation in
the Peruvian higher Andes

Our womanin Brazil
Rafaela Nicola sees
wetlands as the solution,
not as the problem

Forecastingchanges in
2050
Critical Site Network Tool 2.0

4 2018 annual review

Gulnaaz
Khatun will
get her tap

Infernal
floods wash
over Kerala

The muddy
river brings
life

High heels
in thewetlands

Mangroves
are sexy!

Wetlands in southern India lose
their absorbing capacity

Inter-county dialogue in Kenya’s
Ewaso Ng’iro River basin

New restoration policyin Africa pays off

Transforming women’s lives
through WASH management inIndia

A wild anduntouchedqueen

Wetlands
for a Safer
World

Albanian Vjosa river at the heartof wild river campaign

With 1 million Euro from theDutch Postcode Lottery...

Introduction from the CEO2
In short 
6Mini-portrait of Andrew Kerr 
13
From the CEO
20
In short Ramsar News
32
Mini-portrait of Ildiko Nagy
39
Wetlands International Global Network  44
Mini-portrait of Mori Diallo
61
Mini-portrait of Dushyant Mohil
67
Mini-portrait of Lea Appulo
69
Achievements70
Functioning and organisation 
78
Finance and resourcing 
79
From the Supervisory Council
80

2018 annual review 5

Farmers and cities
pay for ecosystemservices in Mindanao,
Philippines

In short© Jan van de Kam© Sander Carpaij

In 2018 Wetlands International, with its
partner the Cagayan de Oro River BasinManagement Council, initiated the adoptionof Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), in
the Cagayan de Oro and Agusan river basins

6 2018 annual review

Saunders's Gull on ground© Taej Mundkur

In December 2018, Wetlands International launched
the initiative ‘Flyway Bottleneck Yellow Sea’ to assist
governments in safeguarding the intertidal wetlands of
the Yellow Sea, which are critical feeding and resting places for migratory waterbirds in the East Asian-Australasian
flyway. Due to industrial and urban development, thishabitat along the coast of the Yellow Sea in China is underpressure. The wetlands of the Yellow Sea are also important resource for the local communities who depend on thearea for fisheries.
The initiative was made possible by a grant from Arcadia- a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.
Wetlands International will provide technical assistance tolocal authorities and other stakeholders to help safeguard
and restore this important wetland system.
Find out more here

© Frank Hoffman

A passage for bird migrationin the Yellow Sea

Water dialogues pave way
for nature-based solutions toavert flood risks
in Mindanao. With this system private
citizens, the private sector and agricultural
farmers will pay for the use of water resources. These payments are then recycled
into the restoration of the river basin ecosystems to reduce the effect of floods andsecure water provisioning during droughts.
The project brings together stakeholders
from upper reaches of the rivers down to
Cagayan de Oro City, at the river mouth. In
the Agusan river basin, upstream pilot projects initiated by Wetlands International,
are showcasing the potential of the investment of PES-funds in native species agroforestry managed by the local communities.

Criss-crossed by rivers and streams, Panama City counts
several ‘flood prone’ neighbourhoods separated from thesea by mangroves forest. Urban encroachment of floodplains and swamps has caused more intense and frequent
flooding of these low-lying neighbourhoods. Under thecoordination of Wetlands International, ‘Water Dialogues’
were held with local stakeholders and Dutch water experts,
resulting (in 2016) in an Action Plan which embraces nature
based solutions like wetland reservoirs, river floodplains
and mangrove conservation combined with ‘grey measures’to reduce flood risk. For the implementation of this action
plan, the Inter-American Development Bank approved (inDecember 2018) a USD $100 million loan. The Water Dialogues have also led to Panama city becoming part of the‘100 resilient cities initiative’.
Further reading2018 annual review 7

For
peat’ssake!
Joint initiative PaludiFor to save peatlands in Indonesia

8 2018 annual review

S

arpani, a 59-year-old Indonesian farmer,
knows about the risks.
He knows that the drained peatlands on
the Meranti Islands in the Riau Provinceof Sumatra, where he grows sago and rubber, nolonger function as a sponge to absorb any surplus
water.
He knows that the draining of the land has caused
the soil to subside, making his village and fields
prone to devastating flooding.
He also knows that dry peatlands are very combustible, and that once a fire is started – byaccident or on purpose to clear the land – it cansmoulder underground for months. Sarpani andhis fellow farmers on the degraded peatlands ofIndonesia and Malaysia are living in continuous
fear of having their livelihoods destroyed.

Peatlands
Peatlands, composed of layers of decayed andcompressed vegetation and sometimes over ten
metres thick, hold huge amounts of carbon, store
enormous amounts of fresh water and are host to
unique biodiversity. In their pristine form they are
efficient climate regulators and a buffer against
drought and floods. Malaysia and Indonesia
combined have more than 24 million hectares ofpeatland, but 90% of it has been deforested anda large portion drained. Extensive areas of theislands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, for example,
have been converted into plantations for oil palmand fast-growing acacia trees for wood pulp forthe paper industry. Big companies produce palm

oil for the global market. But many smallholders
have also entered the scene and started growing
oil palm on drained peatlands. Most of the oil isused for the global production of food and cosmetics, but a sizeable and still increasing portionis also used as biofuel.

Carbon storage
According to the UN, the world’s remaining
peatlands hold twice as much carbon as all of theworld’s forests combined. When peatlands are
drained this ancient carbon comes into contact
with oxygen, releasing massive amounts of CO2.
And when the dried up peatlands are set on fire toclear the land, the situation is exacerbated. Rampant fires in Sumatra or Kalimantan have caused– and still do! – smog in urban areas hundreds ofkilometres away.
In recent years – and certainly after 2015 – thedangers and negative side effects of draining
peatlands have become clear to decision makers
in government and industry. In many countries
the rules regarding the exploitation and protection of peatlands have become stricter. Indonesia
imposed a moratorium on the exploitation of newpeatlands and has set sustainability standards.
But acceptable alternatives to growing crops on
peatlands are still hard to come by. Draining thesoil, clearing the forest and planting oil palm or
acacia trees are still an attractive prospect asthey generate a nice profit. At least for a while.
Any alternative must not only ensure the health2018 annual review 9

Mapping in Desa Telaga, Katingan, Central Kalimantan. © Yayasan Puter• Peatlands globally hold twice as much carbon as all of
the world’s forests combined• Farmers in Indonesia live in fear that their livelihoods
will be destroyed• Paludiculture, a method to grow crops on rewetted
peatlands, is showing promise• Almost 100 hectares of demonstration site has helped
to secure the livelihoods of over 2,500 households• Wetlands International initiated the Paludiculture
Forum (PaludiFor) to promote paludiculture and getbusiness stakeholders on board• Global palm oil companies are showing interest in
working with the ForumSaving thepeatlands isa race againsttime

3R strategy
In Bagan Melibur, the village where Sarpani lives,
the local community and Wetlands International

10 2018 annual review

have launched a pilot initiative to experimentwith paludiculture: a method to grow crops on rewetted peatlands. Wetlands International follows
what it calls a 3R strategy: rewetting, revegetating
and revitalising. Guided by experts from Wetlands
International, farmer Sarpani and his neighbours
have blocked eight of the canals that have beenused to drain the area. Blocking the canals willallow groundwater levels to rise, gradually rewetting the soil.
In the rewetted area, the project developed four
hectares of demonstration plots for agroforestry-based paludiculture: planting tree species
adapted to wet conditions, such as meranti andgeronggang, and other plants like pandan andsago palm (revegetating). With help from Wetlands International the farmers have set up cooperatives to manage the processing and marketingof the products. The goal is to secure local livelihoods for the long term (revitalising). “I hope thatblocking our canals will help to rewet the peatarea and make our plants grow better. This will
positively affect our livelihood,” says Sarpani.
Wetlands International has initiated and supported similar trials in ten communities on Sumatra
and Kalimantan. The results of these pilots arequite encouraging. Between May 2017 and March
2019 over 16,000 hectares of peatland were
restored. Almost 100 hectares of demonstration

In 2015 it was breaking news: the thousands ofpeatland fires – some counted as much as 100,000
individual seats of fire – that turned the previously
pristine swamp forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan
into hellish landscapes. Thousands of square kilometres were covered under a thick layer of smoke,soot and smog. The World Bank calculated that thefires cost Indonesia over 15 billion dollars. Abouthalf a million people were hospitalised for respiratory problems. The amounts of smoke and chemicals that were released catapulted Indonesia fromthe sixth to the fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases worldwide, according to an article in
Scientific American.

© Petra Meijerof the peatlands, but must also secure a stable
livelihood for those involved.

A thick layer of smoke,soot and smog

Peat fire smog

plots were set up. This has helped to secure thelivelihoods of over 2,500 households.
The experiments with paludiculture are of vital
importance to the millions of peatland hectares
in Southeast Asia. Paludiculture is relatively
untested in these parts of the world. So far, research has been limited to temperate peatlands
in Europe. The ideal approach in tropical climate
zones may be very different. Certainly the selec-tion of suitable species will be a challenge.
Wetlands International knows that restoring thesoil in ten communities is merely making a small
dent in a huge challenge. Scaling up is essential.
Not only must local communities embrace sustainable agriculture, but the big palm oil companies
have to jump on the bandwagon as well. They
control millions of hectares of degraded peatlands.
To promote the idea of paludiculture, share theresults of the pilots and get all stakeholders on
board, Wetlands International initiated the Paludiculture Forum (PaludiFor) in 2018. “PaludiFor
brings together the private sector, the government,
NGOs, financial and research institutes,” says Nyoman Suryadiputra, director of the Indonesian officeof Wetlands International.
PaludiFor’s official goal is to facilitate the shift
from drained agriculture to paludiculture. Wetlands International hopes that the results of thepilots will inspire participants in PaludiFor.
The initiative was launched in the fall of 2018,
and by late 2018 some major stakeholders werealready showing interest: among them one of the
major global palm oil companies.
The interest shown by big business is no surprise,
Nyoman Suryadiputra says. “The companies knowthat the business model they are currently following is not sustainable. Even if the government were
not to regulate and ban the further development

2018 annual review 11

Andrew Kerr

Sustainable Eel Groupa partner of Wetlands International

Who is Andrew Kerr?
“I am the chairman of the Sustainable Eel Group(SEG). SEG is based in Brussels. We campaign for therecovery of the European eel. Born in the Sargasso
Sea, off the coast of the US, eels need European wetlands for their transition from a marine to a freshwater species. The gradual loss of access to this habitat
has been devastating for the eel. Seven years ago westarted collaborating with Wetlands International,
and our relationship has been growing ever since.”

Up to date
By joining the platform, the private sector will
stay up to date with new developments and bestpractices regarding the sustainable and profitable use of the peatlands. In this respect, the participation of universities is a key priority. “Contact with the academic community is extremely
valuable for the private sector,” Yoyok Wibisonocomments. “The first big company that we expect
to join is IOI, a major palm oil producer operating huge plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.
IOI knows it is vital for them to find alternative,
sustainable ways to exploit the peatlands they
are working on.”
The Paludiculture Forum’s work is in line withgovernmental efforts to save and restore thepeatlands. Alarmed by the devastating peatland
fires of 2015, the Indonesian government has set
up the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), whichaims to restore 2.5 million hectares of dry peat-

12 2018 annual review

Community group demonstration
plots, Siak, Riau, Sumatra

land by 2020. To accomplish this ambitious task,
the government needs to access the expertisegathered in PaludiFor. No wonder that several
government officials have announced their interest in joining the initiative.
Without sustainable and profitable alternatives,
millions of hectares of peatland will continue todegenerate. Land is still subsiding, tons of CO2 isstill being emitted and fires are still raging.
Saving the peatlands is a race against time.
•

Donor

Good Energies Foundation© Yayasan Elangof peatlands, the peatlands themselves would
reduce the return on investment.” Over time,drained peatlands will degenerate and lose theirproductivity, Yoyok Wibisono, programme coordinator of PaludiFor, adds. “The industry needssustainable alternatives. Paludiculture is the way
to go.”

What was the biggest success of 2018?
“Our work with Wetlands International is mainly on
the level of lobbying and advocacy in Europe. The
main success of last year was the #protectwater
campaign. #protectwater aims to maintain the EU
Water Framework Directive. This framework – currently under review by the European Commission –protects European freshwater ecosystems. After justone month over 100,000 people signed the petition.
By March 2019 this number rose to almost 400,000!”
What is the goal for 2019?
“We want to make conservation NGOs aware of theperilous state of freshwater fish. Most experts agree
that freshwater fish have suffered more than marine
species, yet few organisations or governments acknowledge this or take action. By the way: we focus
on the European eel, but we want to expand ourattention to all 16 species globally that enjoy both amarine and freshwater life and that are threatenedby habitat loss.”
•2018 annual review 13

• Over-grazing, peat extraction and mining pollution
are degrading the Bofedales and undermining theirability to sustain communities• Wetlands International has been working with local
NGOs and communities to promote sustainablepasturage, peatland restoration and management in
two Ramsar sites• The project offers pastoralists an alternative to sow
high-yielding seeds while retiring their herds in the
short-term• Wetlands International is upscaling the pilot to implement it across Lima’s entire watershed between
2019 and 2024, as well as regions of Argentina

Wetland conservation in the Peruvian High Andes

Restoringand managing
the bofedales‘T
Bofedales near Lake Junín

14 2018 annual review

he fact that my land was fenced.’That is Alfonso Condor’s quick answer to the question of what helped
him most in 2018. Alfonso Condor isa dark-haired Peruvian pastoralist, living near thevillage of Carhuamayo in the higher Andes, 4,080
metres above sea level. Like many others in thisremote region, Alfonso herds a flock of sheep.
Llamas, alpacas and cows are the other inhabi-tants of this harsh and empty landscape, which isdominated by shades of brown, grey and green
and consists mainly of rocks and meagre pasture.
Communities livelihood
But the pasture is running out. Livestock ranching
is no longer sufficient for his family’s subsistence.
Alfonso, therefore, has to work part-time in a gas
station to increase his income. The shortage of2018 annual review 15

© A. Chamorro

An unprepared visitor walking through the higher parts of Peru may encounter a highly distinct
landscape element. What is it exactly and how is
it called?
Bofedales are a kind of wetland in the dry,treeless plains of the upper Andes: high-altitude peat bogs that absorb and retain a limited
volume of water from rain, snow and glacier melt
and store it in rich black soil. They are biodiversity hotspots and key resources for traditional
land management. Bofedales are also important
carbon stores, key for climate change mitigation.

Fencing the pastures

16 2018 annual review

pasture is partly due to climate change, which is
melting the glaciers and drying out the bofedales,
high-altitude peat bogs that act like giant natural
sponges (see box). Other threats contributing to
the degradation of these wetlands are mining,
unmanaged grazing, agricultural land use, forestry
and the construction of dams and reservoirs formining and energy.
Wetlands International is very concerned about theever-expanding mining activities in the region. The
Andes are an exploration area for lithium, gold, silver, copper, iron and uranium, among other things.
Although the communities own the land, they only
have a say over the land surface; what happens
underground, is regulated by the state.
Not only do all these activities threaten endemic
biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities, they also impact the livelihood of people
living downstream. Because the Rimac River, whichflows through Lima, has been severely contaminated and carries less water as a result of agriculture
and mining, pipelines from upland wetlands haveto secure the supply of drinking water for thebone-dry Peruvian capital.
The pastoralists play a vital role when it comesto the bofedales. In the past, they contributed totheir maintenance. In pre-colonial times they kept
alpacas and llamas. The arrival of the Spaniards
brought sheep and cows which have harder hooves© Roberto Elias

The meaning of bofedales

Lake Junín Frog

and contribute to erosion. They also tend to graze
down to the soil. These activities have caused thebofedales to degrade and lose their ability to act
as a sponge, which is vital for water management.
Another threat is the extraction of peat, which
inhabitants use for heating and cooking.
Lake Junín frog
In 2017, Wetlands International started the project‘Saving High Andes Wetlands for People andNature’. It focuses on wetland conservation andsustainable development in two Ramsar wetland
sites in the Andean highlands, Pozuelos Lagoon in
Argentina and Lake Junín in Peru. The ecologicalvalue and ability to sustain traditional community-based livelihoods is in decline in both thesesites. “The best way to save the wetlands here is
promoting better sustainable pasturage practices

and peat bog restoration and management,” says
Jorge Gonnet, wetlands management expert of the
project in Argentina. His Peruvian colleague Alan
Chamorro adds: “Working with the local communities is key to this. It serves wetland restorationand the wellbeing of the people at the same time.”
Chamorro forms part of the Peruvian NGO Asociación de Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN), which cooperates with Wetlands International in the Peruvian
part of the project.
One of the ways to help the wetlands restore is
fencing the land of pastoralists such as AlfonsoCondor, to prevent the sheep from entering thebofedales. In highly degraded parts, native plants
are sown to speed up the process. Land with recovered pasture, which has a high nutritive value, isreserved for pregnant cows and cows with young
calves.
In 2018, this resulted in improved management
and restoration of 32 hectares of bofedales andhigh-altitude pasture in the Peruvian part of the
project, near Lake Junín. This was achieved withthe help of about 210 families. It was not easy,
because there was a conflict of the pastoralists’long-term and short-term interests. In the longterm, rewetted bofedales and pastures keep thegrazing areas intact, but in the short term it means
the pastoralists have to remove their herds or evenreduce them. “That’s why it’s extremely important2018 annual review 17

Bone-dry Lima
depends on
the water ofthe bofedales

to offer them alternatives,” says Constantino Aucca
Chutas, president of ECOAN.
One alternative is to offer the communities
high-yielding pasture seeds. Alfonso Condor was
one of the recipients. “The NGO gave us three
types of seeds, which we are about to sow. We
will act as the workforce,” he says. The seeds
are especially apt for high altitudes. They are
sown outside the bofedales, together with native
species. This results in a rich diet for the animals,
meaning there is less need to use the bofedal or
reduce the herd.
Restoring the bofedales not only serves man,but also nature. For example, it has helped theLake Junín frog, which was thought to be extinct,
to make one of the greatest comebacks sinceLazarus.
Upscaling and replicating
In two years’ time, the project yielded hopeful
results. Many pastoralists have joined, more arewanting to. Therefore, Wetlands International
decided to upscale and replicate the project and to
start a new programme. From 2019 to 2024 it will
be implemented in larger areas in Peru, between
Lake Junín and Lima, encompassing Lima’s entire
watershed, as well as regions of Argentina. The pri-

18 2018 annual review

Droughts and floods threaten Lima
Sometimes the taps in Lima simply go on strike.
In March of 2017, only some days before World
Water Day, the drought lasted for five days. People
had to rely on water tankers. The problem was nota lack of rain, however. On the contrary, Peru was
hit by heavy rainfall. It caused giant mudslides,
which washed away bridges, houses, cars, people
and animals. The water treatment plants had toclose their locks to avoid overflow. Floods and water shortages all at once, that is Lima’s problem ina nutshell. The Peruvian capital is the second-largest desert city in the world (Cairo is the largest)and keeps on growing: soon the city will have 10
million inhabitants. It is completely dependent onwater from elsewhere: there is scarcely any rainfall
in the city itself. But the water supply is lagging
behind urban growth. The root causes are shrinking glaciers in the Andes, the declining abilityof the bofedales to act as sponges, a shortage ofwater reservoirs, poorly maintained waterworks
and polluted rivers.

Building with nature
Lake Junín

mary goal is to expand the experiences in wetland
conservation and to mitigate the growing threat ofmining in the long term.
Alan Chamorro, the Junín coordinator of ECOAN,
is encouraging others to upscale their activities aswell. “Apart from sustainable pasturage practices
and peat bog restoration you need to reforest
areas with native species and capture and store
rainwater, for example, all on a big scale. Water
companies are showing an interest in solving thewater problem by restoring bofedales. But so far
implementation is low.”
Alfonso Condor, in the meantime, enthusiasticallybacks the project. “We can’t go on as we did in thepast. We have to embrace solutions from abroad.
The pasture needs rest. If it doesn’t get it, there will
be no future for our children.”
•In traditional engineering, nature is an obstaclethat has to be overcome by building structures
such as bridges, dams and tunnels. With thechanging climate and shrinking resources, there
is an imminent need to build with nature rather
than against it. The building with nature philosophy sees natural elements as building blocks
instead of obstacles. Green roofs that help tolower the temperature in cities are an example,
as is the practice of creating reservoirs for storm
water. Building with nature aims to create a more
resilient landscape. It uses so called blue-green
infrastructure. A group of experts, among them
Sander Carpaij of Wetlands International andConstantino Aucca Chutas of ECOAN, defined
this kind of infrastructure in a joint article as ‘aplanned interconnected network of natural andsemi-natural areas, which include water bodies
and green open spaces, that provides different
ecosystem services’. Building with nature wouldbe, in the future, an interesting opportunity topreserve the high Andean Wetlands.
Donors

DOB ecology

Partners Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos – ECOAN
Video

Saving high andes wetlands
for people & nature2018 annual review 19

Jane Madgwick

From the CEO
Our world is changing
fast and becoming
more volatile. Scientists are becoming
more vocal about the imminent dangers we face due to the combinationof ecosystem degradation and climatechange. Credible commentators are
warning of near-term disruptions towater availability and global foodsystems, with all the consequences forpeace and security that those could
have. Citizens are on the streets demanding action, but governments andcompanies are responding too cautiously and falling short of leading thetransformational shifts in landscapesand across sectors that are urgently
needed. The world is unprepared forthe consequences of global warming.

20 2018 annual review

Wetlands are in the frontline of this
triple crisis of ecosystem loss, climate change and social conflict.
Transboundary water conflicts risein drought periods and some wetlands that used
to be safe havens are becoming centres of out-migration. This is playing out in an extreme way, forexample in Lake Chad where the livelihoods ofaround nine million fishers, farmers and pastoralists have been taken away through disruption of
the lake’s water flows for upstream developments.
People have had no option but to flee and themisery has created space for jihadists to recruit
desperate young men. In neighbouring Mali, theestimated one million people dependent on the
Inner Niger Delta (an inland delta wetland as big
as Belgium) could face similar bleak prospects.
Here, Hamsala Bokoum, leader of the regionalorganisation that brings Fulani pastoralists together, advised us recently
that the delta is a “tickingbomb”, saying that plannedwater diversions that willfurther reduce freshwaterflow to these wetlands, will
likely trigger big conflicts
Hamsala Bokoum
as natural resources drop

below a critical point. Conversely, herders, farmers
and fisher representatives here agree that restoringflows to the delta and enlarging the bourgou (water
grass) fields, would help to ease the pressure andrestore the peace between local communities. They
mention how they are used to co-exist in thesewetlands, to trade products and share the space.
Wetlands International has worked closely withdelta communities and with the Mali government
for more than 20 years, to build and share knowledge on the delta, to conserve the biodiversity
and enhance livelihoods and adaptation to climatechange. We are convinced that through improving
water governance and by seeing and nurturing thedelta as a natural asset, there are promising options for equitable, sustainable development andfor restoring peace. This is a story repeated acrossthe Sahel – and so we are working to raise awareness and to re-orientate investments in Sahelian
wetlands, as “blue lifelines”.
In a crisis you look to your leaders.
Some governments, companies and communities are joining forces and taking a leading role
in working with nature to bring back wetlands toimprove the natural resource base and humansecurity. For example, the government of Indonesia is working with us to reverse the fortunes ofmore than 70,000 people in Central Java. Theirhomes and land are being washed away as thecoastline is eroding at a dramatic rate. The Ministryof Marine Affairs and Fisheries and the villagers of
Timbulsloko joined us in the first hybrid engineering trial there, four years ago, to see if this would
trap sediment so that mangroves seedlings cancolonise. The vision is to restore a thick mangrove
belt to act as a buffer from high tides and storms
in conjunction with reviving smallholder aquaculture production in the hinterland. Thanks to thecommitment of local, national and international
partners, including engineering companies andknowledge institutes, four years on this is taking

Village heads at signing ceremony to take over project
ownership

shape, visibly transforming a 20km stretch of coast.
Specialised species, such as the Milky Stork is also
coming back in the mangrove
areas. Local communities are determined tosucceed and they take an active role in driving
innovation. Village leaders are signing up to takeover responsibility for most elements of the programme: they organise and collaborate amongst
neighbouring villages to carry out the needed constructions and management, guided by engineers.
I was present in a signing ceremony of four village
leaders earlier this year - and I found their message
of commitment, solidarity and hope very humbling.
Through sharing knowledge, trainings and providing access to micro-finance, fishery production
and living standards have improved. Mangroves
are incorporated into fish ponds to help stabilise
the banks and diversify the aquaculture products.
Locally made natural fertilisers have boosted
productivity. Despite the fact that this is still ina large experimental management and learning
phase, the Ministry has adopted the philosophy
behind this work of “Building with Nature” moregenerally and is applying it with different designs
to protect other coastal stretches and types ofcoastlines in Indonesia. The dream that we share is
to mobilise others to do the same across Asia andglobally. •

2018 annual review 21

Kerala wetlands in southern India lose their capacity to absorb floodwaters

Infernal floods
wash over
God’s own
country
The picturesque Kerala backwaters in southern India,
increasingly popular with
tourists, are a network of engineered canals, lagoons, lakes
and rice paddies. But a fatal
monsoon deluge has highlighted the global problem of how
developed wetlands often lose
their capacity to absorb major
floods.
By Fred Pearce for
Wetlands International

22 2018 annual review

In India, they call thestate of Kerala in the
country’s far south‘God’s own country’.
That wasn’t how it felt
in August 2018, when monsoon floods devastated its
densely populated low-lying coastal plain. Around
500 people drowned, in anarea best known to outsiders for its placid backwaters, a network of brackishlakes, lagoons and canals

where growing numbersof Western tourists cruise
the picturesque waterways
aboard luxury houseboats.
Now that the floodwaters
have abated, questions arebeing raised about whether the disaster was madeworse by water engineering
projects in the backwaters
designed to feed the state’s
population and attract
tourists. Increasingly, Kerala
residents are wondering if

2018 annual review 23

New Indian Press | EPS | Melton Antony• Two-thirds of Keralas wetlands have been diked
and drained to make way for industry, urban areas,
tourism and agriculture over the last century• Lake Vembanad has halved in size
• A fatal monsoon resulted in 500 dead and thousands
evacuated from their homes• At the 140-meter-high Cheruthoni Dam on Kerala’s
biggest river operators, had to open all five gates forthe first time in its 40 years of operation• The loss of wetlands means the entire backwaterssystem has lost its ability to absorb major floods

A quarter million
people took
refuge in 1,500
relief camps“God’s own country” is damned
as well as dammed.
The floods came out of theWestern Ghats. This chain of
mountains down the west sideof India is one of the country’s
wettest places, drenched from
June to September in monsoon.
In early August, the rains there
were exceptionally intense andunremitting. The rivers flowing
from the mountains west toward
the Arabian Sea dumped theirwater into the backwaters ona coastal plain that is largely
below sea level.
Sixty-mile-long Lake Vembanad,at the heart of the backwaters,rose up and flooded surrounding
wetlands and rice paddies, cities
and farming villages. A quarter-million people took refuge in
1,500 relief camps; 10,000 kilometres of roads and 300 square
kilometres of farmland weredamaged. Cochin International
Airport was awash.

24 2018 annual review< Estuary andmarsh area due
to polder
construction

Tin shacks
Four months on, when I visited,the cleanup had been largely
completed in many places. Often
all that was left was the high-water mark on buildings. But inmany of the hardest-hit poor
rural communities, recovery hadbarely begun.
At Kannady, a small village in the
Kuttanad wetland south of Lake
Vembanad, I found people still
living in broken tin shacks. Closeby, villagers were laboriously
digging a drain across their rice
fields to cleanse it of polluted
water so they could plant a newcrop. Some villagers blamed thefloods on the backwaters. Afterall, as village councillor Ambila
Gose pointed out, the water
had come up from the lake andacross the Kuttanad wetland,
before swamping their community. Maybe more drains would
empty the wetland and keep thewater away, they suggested. But
the truth is the opposite, said

B. Sreekumar of the Kottayam
Nature Society, which is basedon the wetland. Two-thirds ofthe wetland had been drainedby farmers in the past century.
Those wet areas that survived
had minimised the flood damage
by absorbing floodwaters. What
the villagers needed was morewetland, not less. “The flood is
man-made. To reduce the flood
risks, we should remove all theencroachments,” he said.

Tourists’ delight
The backwaters that dominate
the narrow coastal plain of Kerala are a tourists’ delight. Millions
come each year, some now to
see locations featured in Arundhati Roy’s Booker Prize-winning
novel The God of Small Things.
(Our boatman on Lake Vembanadclaimed to have been brought
up in the same village as Roy. It
might even be true.)
But the backwaters are not what
they once were. Many of themangroves that once lined Lake
Vembanad have been removed
to make way for tourist lodges
and to improve their views of
the water. Half a century ago,

Integrated Management
Plan for Ramsar-sites
Wetlands International has
been working with the State
Wetlands Authority Kerala
to put in place integrated
management plans for the
restoration of the threeRamsar sites, Vembanad-Kol,
Asthamudi and Sasthamkotta.
Regaining the hydrologicalmoderation capability of thewetlands is the cornerstoneof these management plans.
The plans were approved for
implementation early 2019.

newly independent India rushed
to drain the rich wetland soils of
the plain for growing rice, as partof a national drive to achieve
local food self-sufficiency. Dutch
engineers brought their techniques of land reclamation toconvert parts of Lake Vembanaditself into more than 1,000
drained polders for rice cultivation, each with stone walls surrounding drained land a metre or
more below the level of the lakeoutside.
Urbanisation grabbed thewetlands too. In Kochi, Kerala’s
fastest-growing city and main
port, a few scraps of mangroveon riverbanks remind visitors of
its wetland past. On the edge ofThrissur, another fast-growing
metropolis, real estate develop-

ers have just completed Sobha
City, a large estate of apartment
blocks, on land annexed from theKole wetland (part a the bigger
Vembanad-Kol area). It is surrounded by reed beds swaying in
the breeze.
What remains of the Kole
wetland is still rich in wildlife.
A recent bird survey found 250
species. At a patch of former
paddy near Palakkad, we saw agreater spotted eagle within seconds of arrival. A pair of hoopoes
crossed the path. Marsh harriers
and pelicans were feeding on
fish. Even so, much has gone. By
the end of the 20th century, thesize of Vembanad Lake had been
halved to less than 180 square
kilometres. With siltation reducing its depth in many places,
the lake’s water-holding capacity
has diminished by three-quarters. The Kuttanad wetland has
declined by two-thirds.
Whatever the ecological losses,
engineers believed they had

2018 annual review 25

‘The dams were nevermeant to be opened like
that; it caused massive
flooding downstream’

Incessant rain
One target of concern are thedams that barricade many of therivers flowing from the Western
Ghats into the backwaters. In August, even as the floods continued, hydrologists were pointing
out that virtually all the dam
reservoirs were full at the startof the flood. That left no room
to absorb heavy rains coming
downstream. “Steps could havebeen taken to avoid the calamities downstream,” hydrologist
E.J. James of Karunya University
in Coimbatore, a former member

26 2018 annual reviewof the Kerala Dam Safety Authority, told the Deccan Chronicle
at the height of the flooding.
“There were predictions about
incessant rain and [the] waterlevel was bound to increase.”
As soon as the heavy rains were
forecast, managers should havebegun gradually emptying thereservoirs to create space.
Instead, under instructions tokeep their reservoirs as full as
possible to maximise electricity
generation, managers ended up
making rushed releases at theheight of the floods, just to savetheir structures from being broken by the force of water behindthem. At the 140-meter-highCheruthoni Dam on Kerala’s biggest river, the Periyar, operators
opened all five gates for the firsttime in its 40 years of operation.
“The dams were never meant tobe opened like that,” said Ritesh
Kumar. “It caused massive flooding downstream.” The swollen
river gushed downstream andacross the Kole wetland, inun-

dating Cochin airport for several
days. Thousands of people had
to be evacuated.
The debate about the dams
diverted attention from the more
fundamental issue: managing
the floodwaters themselves.
The lakes and wetlands that
previously would have absorbed
the flood had been diked anddrained to make rice fields,
industrial estates, tourist resorts,
and cities. “The areas where
wetlands reclamation had been
most significant were also theones to bear the severest of the
impacts,” Kumar said.
I saw this myself in the village of
Pullu, southwest of Thrissur on
the Manakkody River. The village
is an island surrounded by rice
fields created by reclaiming theKole wetland. Villagers told theirstory of the floods. How thewater came from rivers into theirfields and then surged into thevillage. Some residents had to be
rescued by helicopter. “We released the cattle when the flood

came, and not many returned,”
said villager Siva Dason.

Obfuscation
By the end of 2018, they werestill recovering. They havepumped the polluted floodwaters from their wells. The
government provided grants for
those rebuilding their homes.
But first they had to eat. A man
named Badirruddin, whose
house had been destroyed, wasout fishing in the river. And rice
fields where farmers had lost
one rice crop to the flood werealready planted with the next.
But the truth is they were in aplace that in past times would
have been a natural wetland.
The Kole wetland is recognisedby the Ramsar Convention as
an internationally important
wetland. I asked villagers if they
thought that converting all thesurrounding wetland into rice
fields surrounded by dikes might
have left them vulnerable when
the water came. The village© Seeds

the complex hydrology of the
backwaters under control, witha network of dams and barriers.
But that complacency was blown
away by the August floods, said
Ritesh Kumar, director of Wetlands International, South Asia.
The system may be able to handle
regular monsoon flows, but theengineering has resulted in theentire backwaters system losing
its ability to absorb major floods.

leader K. Parameswaran thought
for a while. Perhaps other communities were guilty, he said. It
sounded like obfuscation, but
it was a fair point. No village
can save itself alone. It was acollective failure – a tragedy ofthe hydrological commons.
The problem lay in attempting
to turn large areas of natural
wetland and river floodplain
into dry land, said Kumar: “This
whole coastal area is a floodplain. It is where the water goes;
it is natural. We should not try
to prevent it.”
•Fred Pearce is a freelance author
and journalist based in the UK.
He serves as environmental
consultant for New Scientist
magazine and is the author ofnumerous books, including The
Land Grabbers. He visited Kerala
for Wetlands International, fora new book “Water Lands” tobe published in 2020 to raise
wetlands higher on the global agenda. His trip was madepossible by the Dutch National
Postcode Lottery

2018 annual review 27

• Abstractions by agriculture, sandmining and tourism
upstream have reduced the capacity of the Ewaso
Ngi’ro river ecosystem in Kenya to absorb and storewater• Wetlands International brought together officials forthe first time to discuss and agree to joint management of the river basin• Large infrastructure plans for 2030 look set to compound water management issues• Recent mobilization of local communities hashelped hold back large infrastructure threats• Lake Ol’ Bolossat formally became a Wetland Protected Area in 2018
• This provide a legal framework and opportunity toenlist the lake as a Ramsar Site

Ewaso Ngi’ro River, Kenya

The ‘muddy
river’ brings
life downstream
28 2018 annual review

Every year the muddy Ewaso Ngi’ro River in Kenya brings less water to thepastoralist communities and wetlands downstream. Supported by Wetlands International, local communities are trying to raise awareness regarding the plight of the river. And successfully so. Crocodile Jaw Dam has
been put on ice and Lake Ol’ Bolossat has been declared a protected area.

‘T

his river used to flow for ten
months a year, but these days it
only flows for two months andthen it dries up. And the springs
also disappear.’ As he describes
the sad condition of the Ewaso Ngi’ro River, Salesa
Forole emphasises every word with slow hand
gestures. Salesa Forole, a traditional red tartan
shawl draped over his head and shoulders, is apastoralist from the county of Isiolo in Kenya. He
is featured in a short documentary film made by
the local organisation Isiolo Peace Link. For Forole
the Ewaso Ngi’ro – literally ‘Muddy River’ – means
life. Halfway between the origins of the Ewaso
Ngi’ro, at the foot of Mount Kenya, and the borderwith Somalia where the river joins the Jubba River,
pastoralists such as Forole can only maintain theirherds of cows, goats and camels thanks to thewater provided by this river. But the availability ofwater can no longer be taken for granted. In recent
decades the amount of water reaching the middle
and lower regions of the Ewaso Ngi’ro, including
the notorious Lorian Swamp, has been diminishing.
On the upper reaches of the river, around LakeOl’ Bolossat, economic activities are in fullswing. Farmers, large and small, pump waterfrom the river, tourism
takes a fair share of waterand sand mining reduces
the capacity of the riverbed to absorb and store
water. As a result – andaggravated by climatechange – Lake Ol’ BolosTitus Wamae
sat has been drasticallyreduced in size and volume. In the last decade, thelake’s surface area has shrunk from 10,000 to amere 3,000 hectares.

Camel Caravan
Every year since 2013, communities of pastoralists and farmers from upstream, midstream anddownstream organise the so-called Camel Caravan
Peace Walk: a 5-day, 250-kilometre trek from Isiolo
County up to Archers Post, in the upper river basin.
The walk is supported by Wetlands International.
Stopping at several communities along the river,the participants try to raise awareness of the issues
threatening the river basin and the people who
depend on it. In the documentary mentioned above,Rashid Dida, an older man sporting a short beard
coloured orange with henna and dressed in a faded2018 annual review 29

In December 2018, Wetlands International
initiated an ‘Inter-County Dialogue on Sustainable Governance and Management of Ewaso
Ng’iro River Ecosystem’. It was the first time that
(deputy) governors of the counties bordering theEwaso Ng’iro River came together to discuss the
future of the river. Representatives from the national government, NGOs and the private sector
were also present to share knowledge and talkabout joint solutions based on sharing the waterand improving the ecological condition of theriver system.
The Deputy Governor of Isiolo County, Abdi Hussein, emphasised the need for dialogue between
water users upstream, such as Narumoru Water
Resources Users Association, and those further
downstream, such as Koru-Bisan to ensure thatthe resources in the Ewaso Ng’iro River Basin areused sustainably to improve community livelihoods. Issues identified as the main threats tothe basin ecosystem include sand harvesting,deforestation, water pollution and unsustainable
investments.
At the end of the two-day dialogue, the counties
agreed to set up a system of joint managementof the river basin.
brown jacket with a tartan shirt, explains why heparticipated in the 2018 edition of the Camel Caravan. “Our objective is to address the plight of theriver. During the time of our fathers, the river used
to flow without drying up. But nowadays it often
dries up, because the water is being obstructed by
the irrigation activities of upstream communities.”
The use of the river by agri-businesses upstream
has been an increasing threat to the flow of the

30 2018 annual review

water for some decades now, but in recent years
this threat has become more immediate. About
ten years ago, the Kenyan government introduced
Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to transform Kenya
into an industrialised middle-income country by
the year 2030. Part of Vision 2030 is the Lamu
Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET)
corridor project, running from 2008 to 2030.
LAPSSET features some large infrastructure projects, including railway lines, airstrips, oil pipelines,
an airport and three ‘resort cities’. One of the projected resort cities is intended for Isiolo County. A
dam on Ewaso Ngi’ro River – the so-called Crocodile Jaw Dam – is meant to supply water to the
proposed city.

Lack of public participation
Together with local communities, Wetlands
International has raised many issues about the
proposed construction of the Crocodile Jaw Dam,
including the lack of public participation by communities and accessibility to information about thedam. “The Environmental Impact Assessment was
weak and did not involve some key stakeholders,”
says Titus Wamae of Wetlands International in
Kenya. In particular, the voice of the Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs) has not been
heard in the plan-making process. WRUAs arecommunity-based associations of water users at
the sub-basin level. They are established by law for

the collaborative management of water resources.
The WRUAs are also charged with resolving conflicts that may arise over the use and distributionof water from the river, Wamae explains. “We haveargued that these WRUAs must be allowed to voice
their concern regarding the function of the river
as a lifeline for communities living on its banks.”
In particular, the river’s downstream communities
stand to suffer the consequences of the dam andother obstacles built in the river as part of Vision2030.

On ice
The awareness raising, the pressure and the lobbying activities have paid off, at least for now. “Therecent protests have helped to put the construction of the Crocodile Jaw Dam on ice,” Titus Wamaesays. “But we remain wary, because the Deputy
President of Kenya has said that he believes thedam will be constructed. So it is still not clear what
will happen.”
More good news came in early 2018 when Lake Ol’
Bolossat, an important biodiversity area, formallybecame a Wetland Protected Area following its
gazettement by the National Environment Authority. “The gazettement will provide the crucial legal
framework,” Wamae says, “including the ongoingdevelopment of a management plan to guide theconservation of the lake.” This will then provide alobbying opportunity to enlist the Lake as a Ramsar© Joy Kivata

Water dialogue

Partners for resilience
Wetlands International works together with
the Netherlands Red Cross, CARE Netherlands,
Cordaid and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre in the ‘Partners for Resilience’ (PfR)
alliance. PfR is funded by the Dutch Ministryof Foreign Affairs. Working together with local
stakeholders, the partners follow an Integrated
Risk Management Approach, creating awarenessof the importance of ecosystems and landscapes
as buffers against hazards such as droughts
and floods, and as a source of livelihoods. PfR
operates in eleven countries in Africa, Asia andLatin America.
Site. But first, the current status of the area must be
assessed. Based on that assessment, a plan will bemade to bring the lake up to Ramsar standards. The
government has already started cleaning up theplastic pollution in the lake and its surroundings. •Donors

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands

Partners Watershed		Partners for Resilience (PfR)
		
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)

2018 annual review 31

In 2018, India declared its part of the
Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove
forest spanning India and Bangladesh, a‘Wetland of International Importance’. Wetlands
International was key to the process, providing
technical support to Indian Ministry ofEnvironment Forest and Climate Change.

32 2018 annual review

Spotlight on wetland
jewel in Oman
© Purnanshi

Over 1,300 delegates, observers and other visitors attended the ‘13th Conference of the Contracting Parties
to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13)’ heldin Dubai from 21-29 October, 2018. Wetlands International, an International Organisation Partner of theConvention, worked with Parties to shape up a range
of Resolutions and supported the regional dialogues
leading up to the conference. Wetlands International
assisted Senegal and the Central African Republic tosubmit a draft Resolution on wetlands, peace andsecurity. In her opening speech, representing the International Organisation Partners, Jane Madgwick, CEO of
Wetlands International, highlighted “how continuingdegradation of wetlands is fuelling societal tensions
and conflicts – and conversely, that where action istaken to safeguard wetlands and secure wetland livelihoods, those communities are more able to remain
peaceful.” The draft Resolution was widely supportedby African delegations and, during a dedicated side
event, experiences and evidence on this topic wereshared by delegates from Mali, Central African Republic, Senegal, Iraq and Brazil.
Find out more here:
Connecting Wetlands & Human security in Mali

© Taej Mundkur

African nations call for
action on Wetlands for
Peace at Ramsar COP13

The Ras Al Khor wetland is situated right in the
middle of the city of Dubai and as an urban
wetland is of great value to nature, residents
and tourists of the metropolis. It is home to 47
species of flora and 270 species of fauna, among
them some 500 greater flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus). In the aftermath of the 13th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands, held in Dubai, Wetlands
International was invited to visit the Ras Al Khor
Wildlife Sanctuary. This visit coincided with a request to help shape a new management plan forthis exceptional wetland in the heart of Dubai.

The site constitutes over 60% of India’s totalmangrove forest and includes 90% of Indian
mangrove species. The mangroves are vital to
how India can deal with climate change,
absorbing CO2 and protecting the hinterlandfrom storms and saltwater intrusion. Mangrove
forests also sustain fisheries by local communities along the northern and central eastern
coast. In addition, the Sundarbans are home toa number of endangered species including theBengal tiger, the northern river terrapin turtle
and the Irrawaddy dolphin.
Find out more here

The book ‘Barr Al Hikman: shorebird paradisein Oman’, published in 2018 by Wetlands
International, puts a spotlight on this natural
jewel in the West Asian – East African flyway.
The 900 square kilometres, coastal wetland
consisting of reefs, mud-flats and salt flats(‘sabkhas’) hosts over half a million migratory
birds during the northern winter. Wetlands
International works together with Oman’s
Ministry of the Environment and Climate
Affairs to support the designation of Barr Al
Hikman as a Ramsar site and to advise on
conservation management .
Find out more here
© Jan van de Kam

In short
RamsarNews

Saving wetland
treasures in theheart of Dubai

Indian Sundarbans:declared a Ramsar site

2018 annual review 33

• The Corredor Azul extends over
3,400 kilometres and is one of theworld’s last free-flowing river systems• The 10-year Corredor Azul Programme by Wetlands International
aims to safeguard nature and enhance people’s livelihoods along the
Paraná-Paraguay wetland system• Wetlands International has beenworking with the Kadiweu indigenous communities to help them sustainably manage their lands throughmapping and co-design• The project aims to show how communities can base their livelihoodson the sustainable management of
wetlands

Rafaela Nicola, our woman in Brazil:© R. Silva‘The wetland is
the solution,
not the problem’

34 2018 annual review

Rafaela Nicola heads the newly established Wetlands International office inMato Grosso do Sul in Brazil to develop
the Corredor Azul Programme in the
Pantanal. Corredor Azul is a Wetlands
International programme connecting
people, nature and economies along
the Paraná-Paraguay Wetlands System. This system includes impressive
wetland landscapes such as the Paraná
Delta, the Iberá Marshes in Argentina
and the Pantanal in Brazil. More thantwenty years after her first visit to thePantanal to study the reproductive
biology of the caiman, Rafaela is still inlove with ‘her’ wetland.

T

he Pantanal wetland in Brazil is a marvel. It
is the most resilient landscape I know. The
Pantanal is governed by cycles of flood anddrought, completely changing the landscape. In the dry season, wildlife clusters aroundshrinking water holes and small streams. Leaves
fall and the landscape becomes arid. But this is also
the time when trees blossom, painting the landscape red, purple and yellow. In November, when
the rains come, everything turns green again. The
lower lands turn into lakes, mirroring the vegetationand the blue skies above. Someone who knows
the Pantanal in the one season will be completely
lost when coming to the same place half a year
later. And then there is its size: the Pantanal is thebiggest fresh water wetland in the world, measuring some 180,000 square kilometres. That is bigger
than many countries!
2018 annual review 35

SouthSouth
America
America

THE CORREDORAZUL PROGRAMMETHE CORREDOR AZUL PROGRAMMEB O L I V I A

E

Par
an
áR
i

N

D

River

36 2018 annual review

ay
gu
ra

A

Iberá
MarshesParaná Delta

B R A Z I LU R U G U AY

A RG E N T I N A

Corredor Azul
The Corredor Azul extends over 3,400 kilometresfrom its source in the Brazilian Pantanal, throughBolivia and Paraguay to its end point in Delta delParaná in Argentina. It is one of the world’s lastremaining examples of a large, free-flowing river
system. The 10-year Corredor Azul Programme, from2017 to 2027, coordinated by Wetlands International LAC in Argentina, is designed to safeguard
nature and enhance the livelihoods of people along
the Paraná-Paraguay wetland system.
global organisation Wetlands International back inthe early 2000s.
“Whenever Daniel and I met in those days wetalked about when Wetlands International would‘move upstream the Paraguay River’. That was ourway of saying that the organisation should startworking in Brazil. We talked about the need for© Francisco Firpo Lacoste“I started working for the Rios Vivos (‘Living Rivers’)coalition and for IUCN NL through a Brazilian organisation ECOA. I was managing projects on wetlands conservation and facilitating debates about
the Parana/Paraguay Wetland System, so I oftencame across the work of Wetlands International.
Their work was very important to us. Their research
provided solid evidence that we gladly used forour activism, to change policies. In this setting I got
to meet Daniel Blanco, head of Wetlands International in Argentina and Jane Madgwick, CEO of therve

PA R AG U AYPa

“To be honest, I am not from this area. I was raisedin Sao Paulo. My first visit to the Pantanal was asa master student, more than twenty years ago. I
studied reproduction in the caiman, or Jacaré as wecall it in Brazil. That study allowed me to visit thePantanal many times. I spent countless days in thatmagnificent landscape, sailing the rivers and lakes,
admiring the vegetation and animals. But my interest was still mainly that of a researcher. One day, I
met someone and we started talking about my research and why that was important to me, and that
person asked me what I thought of the Hidrovía
project (the Hidrovía is a plan, originating from themid-1990s, to convert the Paraguay and Paraná
rivers into an industrial shipping channel). I had toconfess that I had never really thought about it. It
got me thinking: what would the development of
the Hidrovía do to the area I had grown to love somuch? It was an eye-opener for me! At exactly thatmoment my attitude changed from an academic toan activist for the defence of ‘my’ wetlands.

S

Pantanal

2018 annual review 37

Ildiko Nagy

The Terena People, whose territory, like that of the
Kadiweu people,
is deteriorating.

Wetlands International
Office manager at Wetlands
International Global Office© J. Fernandes

Who is Ildiko Nagy?
“I started working for Wetlands International in 2006 as avolunteer. In 2008 I was appointed technical assistant, andin 2010 office manager at the Global Office. My main task
is to ensure the smooth running of our office and make thelives of my colleagues easier. Do they make my life easy?
Not always, especially with last-minute requests, ha ha.”an integrated approach to the Paraná-Paraguay
wetlands system covering Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
and Argentina. This whole wetland complex should
be considered one interconnected area, we agreed.
And some three years ago, the Corredor Azul idea
was conceived. And Daniel asked me to join Wetlands International and to head a new Brazil officeof the organisation.
Wetlands International is well known in Brazil: it
has a track record for being a serious, fact-basedorganisation. It can play a vital role in keeping theprotection of the Pantanal on the agenda.
“We are in the start-up phase of the new office.
Here in Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso
do Sul and gateway to the Pantanal area, we join
forces with the local women’s organisation MUPAN(Women in Action for the Pantanal). The five people
now employed by Wetlands International work
together in solid partnerships with NGOs, research
institutes and the private sector to raise awareness about the importance of the Pantanal, and to
involve Brazilian stakeholders in the Corredor Azul
Programme.
“One of the things I am enthusiastic about is a project we do together with the Kadiweu indigenous
communities. The leaders of the Kadiweu came to

38 2018 annual review

us not so long ago, complaining that their territories are deteriorating. The Kadiweu territories
encompass some 530,000 hectares of the Pantanal
wetland area. They asked if we could help themto sustainably manage their lands. We recently
finalised a process of participatory mapping andco-designing with the Kadiweu people for their territory, indicating what waters need to be protected, where agriculture is possible, and where thesacred areas of the Kadiweu are located. We arehoping that this project will be able to showcase
how communities can base their livelihoods on thesustainable management of the wetlands.
“There is little awareness about the services wetlands provide for the people living there. A healthy
Pantanal is vital for the availability of fresh water,
for the storage of greenhouse gases, for foodsecurity and for transport. We try to get this message across with stakeholders from governments,
academia, NGOs and the private sector. For that,
we enable learning spaces where different worlds– from traditional to academic – interact, allowing
stakeholders to perceive matters from diverse angles. Unfortunately, many people still think that thebest way to ‘develop’ the wetland is to drain thewater and to start growing soy or raising cattle.
The wetland is seen as an obstacle to development. This process, together with the development of dams and other river infrastructure,
will cause the destruction of the wetlands. Oneof the things we are working on is to show how
the wetlands can provide healthy livelihoods
in a sustainable manner. We say that the wetlands are a solution, not a problem.”
•

Donor

DOB Ecology

Partners INAU - National Wetlands Institutefrom Brazil
UFMS - Federal University of Mato
Grosso do Sul StateSESC Pantanal Ramsar Site
WWF- Brazil
ICCA Consortium
MUPAN, Brazil
Network office

What was your biggest personal work achievement of2018?
“Implementing SharePoint, a digital platform for information exchange. Together with two colleagues I trained
people and answered questions about it. All of our offices
and partners are connected to SharePoint. You can directly
share documents now, which makes collaboration a loteasier.”What is the nicest thing about working at Wetlands International?
“In my work, no day is ever the same. There is a goodworking atmosphere and I have very nice colleagues. I likethe variety of cultures: we have ten different nationalities
working here. I am Hungarian myself. What I like about
the goals of Wetlands International is that it’s not only
about nature but also about people. It touches subjects
like peace and security and migration, which makes it very
diverse.”What do you want to achieve in 2019?
“The implementation of a new project and finance system.
I am part of the selection committee. I will be training
people to work with it. Yes, it seems like I’m becoming a
training officer. But I used to be a teacher, so it suits me.” •2018 annual review 39

Transforming women’s lives through inclusive WASH management in India

Gulnaaz Khatun
will finally
get her tap
40 2018 annual review

Gulnaaz Khatun looks at the newly fitted
water pipe in front of her hut. Once the overhead tanks and the tap are installed, the33-year-old Indian lady will have water at her
doorstep. Gulnaaz feels satisfied because her
efforts have finally paid off. But it has been along struggle.

Gulnaaz is a residentof Lakhnipur Maheshpatti, a village
in the north-eastern Indian state ofBihar. She lives in a hut madeof mud and wood, amid theagricultural lands surrounding
her village. The lands form partof Debkhal Chaur, a natural wetland situated in the basin of the
Burhi Gandak River, spanning
217 hectares. Gulnaaz moved
there five years ago. Her husband migrated to Kolkata where
he works as a washerman. Hisearnings are meagre and hehardly sends any money home.
She is largely left to her own
devices to make ends meet andtake care of her four young children. The fact that she belongs
to a religious minority and abackward caste makes Gulnaaz’marginalisation complete.
Three times a day, Gulnaaz
walks 700 metres to fetch waterfrom a public hand pump. One
hand pump serves about 70
people. Sometimes she has
to wait in a queue to fill her
ten-litre bucket. Her drudgery
is compounded on days when
she is sick or when the terrain

becomes slippery because ofrain. In the past few years, thewater level has fallen, so she has
to make an extra effort to pump
the water. Frequently, the handpump is out of service. Gulnaazthen has to go to other pumps,
further away.

50 metres deeper
Debkhal Chaur is the primarysource of water for about 1,300
farming households. A steadily
increasing amount of groundwater is being used to irrigate theland, causing the groundwaterlevel to recede. The bore wells

2018 annual review 41

Debkhal Chaur wetland• The Watershed Partnership aims to
improve governance and managementof water, sanitation and hygiene services
by, among others, empowering womenand marginalised communities.
• A survey of 159 dug wells helped
communities understand groundwater
regimes and links to the local wetland.

have had to be deepened from
20 to 50 metres. Coupled withless rainfall in the region overthe last two decades, large partsof the wetlands remain dry for
prolonged periods.
Wetlands International participates in Watershed, a strategic
partnership funded by the Dutch

Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The
partnership aims to improve thegovernance and managementof water, sanitation and hygiene
services (WASH) and the water
resources that they draw upon.
This is achieved through an
inclusive approach, which pays
extra attention to the partici-

Helping the sponge recover
The Debkhal Chaur wetland acts as a sponge. It absorbs, stores andreleases water and helps to recharge the groundwater. But an analysis
carried out by Wetlands International using satellite images showeda drastic reduction of the wetland’s capacity to act as a sponge inrecent decades. The sponge, in other words, is drying out. This meanswater security has to be an integral part of water and sanitation
programmes. Wetlands International therefore assists local communities in developing water security plans. Key elements in theseplans include the optimal use of water and catchment conservation
measures, such as rehabilitating ponds and drainage lines that will improve water flows into the wetland. In Debkhal Chaur, 159 dug wells
were surveyed to understand groundwater regimes. The data weremade available to the communities, making them aware of the characteristics of the basin and the importance of water security. Wetlands
International believes that local participation is an important factor
in water security planning. Water security plans prepared throughparticipatory processes empower communities and help them tosolve the emerging water crisis themselves instead of depending on
outside experts.

42 2018 annual review

pation of marginalised groups.
One of the focal areas is the district where Gulnaaz lives. Local
partner Nidan leads the implementation of change there.
Traditionally, India’s highly
patriarchal society has restricted women from raising theirproblems and taking part indecision-making processes. The
government has undertaken
affirmative action by reserving
seats for women in Panchayati
Raj bodies, a form of selfgovernment. But the underlying
social and cultural inequalities
persist.

Too expensive
When Watershed in India began
in 2017, it was hard to ensure agender-balanced approach. In
Bihar, it is not common for women to speak at public platforms in front of men, particularly village elders. The Watershed partners started working
on ways of creating an enabling
environment for women andmarginalised communities.
Watershed therefore engaged
with local women’s self-helpgroups (SHGs) and their villageorganisations to be the voice forwomen in WASH.
Gulnaaz is a member of such a
self-help group. The SHGs needed capacity development to beable to act as agents of change.
Watershed informed them about
WASH issues, implementation
mechanisms, rights, the roles
and responsibilities of women,
and developmental planning
processes. Gulnaaz also benefitted from these interactions.
In 2016, the Bihar State government started a scheme that
aimed to provide every household with piped water. This isbeing achieved through a decentralized approach: implementation committees at the ward level participate in decision making.
In Ward 13, where Gulnaaz lives,
the surveys for laying pipes
started in early 2018. Gulnaaz’
house was left out during theinitial surveys. The contractor,
the village Panchayati Raj head
and the ward committee mem-bers felt that laying down longpipes for a single household
would be too expensive. Gulnaaz
raised this issue in a ward-levelmeeting in March 2018. As she
got the backing of female SHG
members, who vociferously supported her, the ward members
gave in to the demands, albeit
somewhat reluctantly. So in theend, Gulnaaz finally will get her
tap. 
•Donor• Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Netherlands

Partners • IRC (International Water
		and Sanitation Centre)		• Akvo		• Simavi

Toilets yes, but then…
Until recently, open defecation was a widespread practice in India,
causing disease and pollution. In 2014, only 40 per cent of Indians
had access to a toilet. One of the Modi government’s promises wasthat each Indian household would have its own toilet by 2019. The
Mission Clean India (Swachh Bharat) aimed to construct about 100
million toilets by this date. As a result, it launched toilet construction
programmes and provided subsidies. But having a toilet does not
automatically mean that faecal matter will be safely managed. Many
toilets are not connected to sewerage and are situated close to wells,
which can contaminate drinking water. A household survey conducted under the Watershed programme from August to November 2017
showed that only one fifth of faecal matter in the Debkhal Chaur basin
was safely contained. Bacterial contamination was found in half of thehand pumps. Wastewater drainage and treatment facilities are non-existent or poorly planned. Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat
Mission has progressed in this region as well, and it has been declared
free of open defecation, but the safe emptying, transport, treatment
and disposal of faecal sludge still remains a challenge.

2018 annual review 43

Wetlands
International
global network

44 2018 annual review

2018 annual review 45

• Angelique combines
straightforwardness witha strong desire to connect
people• She believes you won’t
get anywhere without
passion• As a financial expert, she
thinks Wetlands International should collect
more un-earmarked funds

Angelique van de Beeten, member of Wetlands International’s
Supervisory Council and treasurer of the association

A high-heeledbaker strollingthrough thewetlands
Angelique welcomes her visitor inher beautifully renovated farmhouse,situated in an open space in the middle of the woods. Although the city of
Ede – and the headquarters of Wetlands
International – is quite close, we arein the middle of a nature reserve here.
Angelique’s farmhouse, painted allin black, can only be reached by dirt
roads. When entering the house, thevisitor’s attention is drawn to a pair ofstiletto heels on the stairs.

46 2018 annual review

Originally, Angelique was a certified public
accountant, but two years ago she suddenly became managing director of De
Graaf Bakeries. This former client of hers,a family-run and rapidly expanding producer ofpies, cookies and snacks, needed some inspirationfrom the outside. And Angelique is inspirational,
combining straightforwardness with a strong desire
to connect people.

Binoculars
A word she often uses is ‘passion’. She even madeit part of De Graaf’s mission. “Without passion you
2018 annual review 47

‘Withoutpassion you
won’t getanywhere’

won’t get anywhere,” she explains. “It’s contagious. If you show passion, clients will feel thatyou’re really serving them - relying on your own
strength.”
As a member of Wetlands International’s Supervisory Council, her role is supportive, not leading.
But passion is a priority for her in this role as well.
“If Wetlands International wouldn’t have been apassionate organisation, with passionate people, I
would never have joined it.”She still remembers her job interview with André van der Zande, the chair of the Supervisory
Council. “He asked me whether I had any affinity
with wetlands. I said: ‘Apart from having a poolin my pasture, no.’ That made him smile. When I
added that I love to encourage people to live their
passion, I got the job. Apparently, that was goodenough.”In the beginning, the world of wetlands was all new
to her. She remembers her first trip with the Supervisory Council, to Buenos Aires. There were many
terms she did not understand and she was the
only one who had not brought binoculars to watch
birds. But on her third trip, to the Saloum Delta
in Senegal, last November, she was one of theenergisers. She prepares well for these trips, neverforgetting her stiletto heels. “I always carry moreluggage than the others,” she admits with a smile.
“My motto is: better safe than sorry. But I didn’t
need to buy a new outfit for these trips, because athome I drive my own tractor.”

48 2018 annual review

oyster racks made of strings which they invented
themselves. Here, let me show them to you.” Shetakes her smartphone and shows pictures of theoyster racks and of the joint meal, consisting of raw
and fried oysters, among other things. Then she
scrolls to pictures of another visit, to Kenya. “Look,
one of the local consultants there taught me how
to jump. As you can see, I was wearing flat shoes at
the time…”

Practical questions
What is her added value for Wetlands International? “I’m an auditor, so my primary focus is financial.
But I’m more of a consultant who translates strategy into management than an administrator. One of
the things I advocated was a financial early warning system and the establishment of a minimum
reserve. I’m part of the audit committee and checkthe annual accounts together with the controller. I also attend job interviews. On my initiative,
candidates have to examine a case. My strength injob interviews is to ask practical questions such as:‘How would you do that?”
She speaks enthusiastically about the 2018 visit
to the Saloum Delta, where the main goal is to
manage and restore the mangrove, and simultaneously enhance local livelihoods, under the
Mangrove Capital Africa programme. “I was really
impressed by their systematic act-know-learnplan approach and their use of key performanceindicators. ‘Wow,’ I said, ‘this is really good!’ They
also showed us some very creative solutions, like

Volvo Ocean Race
She has a clear perspective on the future of Wetlands International. “As a financial expert, I thinkthat we should collect more unearmarked funds.
Almost all of the funds we get now are tied to projects. This means that there’s little left for the organisation. And I do think the organisation should
be lifted to a higher level. I see several ways ofsolving this problem. One is to increase the valueof being a member of the association. We’re
exploring that issue now. Another possibility is toattract more corporate sponsors to Wetlands International. This could easily be done in the context
of the United Nation’s sustainable development
goals. We should specify what we contribute to
the planet, making their contribution transparent
as well. You could offer them packages at different
levels. So for a certain amount, sponsors could use
our name and we could use theirs, for example. I
find the Volvo Ocean Race, which attracts millionsof euros, an example of best practice when it

comes to sponsorship. Third, we should be in more
control of donations by individuals and foundations. At the moment, these donations are too random. I realise that wetlands don’t make people go
all soft inside. Peat isn’t exactly the sexiest subject.
But you could make the jump from mangroves toTemptation Island…”

School trip
Wetlands and a bakery seem to have few thingsin common. Still, Angelique believes that the twocomplement and strengthen each other. Just as
her managerial and financial expertise benefits
Wetlands International, her being part of the Supervisory Council also benefits De Graaf Bakeries.
She learned how to conduct meetings from Andrévan der Zande, for example, and was inspired by
Wetlands International’s work streams and by the
project barometers the organisation uses.
What does she consider the best results from lastyear? “That we got two new competent management team members, Richard Holland and Ron van
Leeuwen. And that we are in better financial shape
to scale-up our impact, thanks to money from theDutch National Postcode Lottery, for example.”
And what was the funniest event? “Josje Reinartz’s
farewell as chief operations officer. The Supervisory Council celebrated that in Senegal and it was
hilarious. We all sang for her, very much out oftune. It was just like a school trip!”
•2018 annual review 49

J
New restoration policy in Africa pays off

Mangrove
Capital
50 2018 annual reviewoãozinho Sá looks up
at the sky. It is a sunny
day in the Cacheu River
Mangroves Natural Park.
Hardly any wind and no rain: agood day to sail to the abandoned rice paddies. Once again
Sá, the national coordinator of
Wetlands International in Guinea-Bissau, checks his timetable:
8hrs - 9hrs: meeting with thepark agents to define the strategy of the day
9hrs - 10hrs: meeting with thecommunity, selection of 20
associates
10hrs: departure by boat fromthe Port of Cacheu
12hrs: arrival at the abandoned
rice paddies
12hrs -14hrs: breaching thedykes, cleaning the site
16hrs: return to the Port ofCacheu, refund of participation
fee to associates
16hrs -17hrs30: debriefing ofJoãozinho Sá

the day and preparation for the
next outing.
Joãozinho feels like it. Working
in the park is so much better
than spending a day at theoffice.

Promising results
The Cacheu River Mangroves
Natural Park is not just any
park. It is the greatest dense
mangrove setting in West
Africa. Two-thirds of its territory of 886 km2 consists ofmangroves. The park, stretching along the Cacheu River innorth-western Guinea-Bissau,

was founded in 2000 and designated a Ramsar site of international importance in 2015.
Today’s activities in Cacheu
Park are exemplary of Wetland
International’s efforts to help
mangroves recover worldwide– something which is vitally
important (see box). From 2017
onwards, the effort to restore
mangroves was given a boost.
In that year, Wetlands International started the Mangrove
Capital Africa programme (seebox) and joined the Global
Mangrove Alliance (see box).
The first highly promising
results of Mangrove Capital inparticular emerged in 2018.
“In the past, most of ourmangrove projects were small
scale,” explains Pieter van Eijk,
Global Programme Head on
Deltas and Coasts for Wetlands
International. “We typicallyused to work with a small group2018 annual review 51

the Saloum Delta, © Lammert Hilarides• In 2018, Wetlands International beganscaling up mangrove projects across wider
coastal landscapes under the frameworkof the Mangrove Capital Africa programme(started in 2017) and the Global Mangrove
Alliance• Inhabitants are offered alternatives for
mangrove cutting, like sustainable oyster
farming• Emphasis is placed on working with womenas they rely disproportionately on the mangroves.

Clashes with park guards
An important aspect of Mangrove Capital Africa is thecommunity work. Although thecommunities need a healthy
ecosystem, they have notalways treated the mangrove
forests in a sustainable way.
“The riparian communities often prioritised improving theirlivelihoods over conservation,”

52 2018 annual review

Mangrove Capital Africa

Half of global mangrove coverage has been lost since 1940. Less
than 13.8 million hectares remain. The loss is mainly due to aquaculture (such as fish and oyster farming), farming (such as rice andpalm oil), construction (such as dams and settlements), oil and gas
extraction, and mining. Other threats are climate change, which leads
to drought and increased salinity in tidal areas, and the logging ofmangroves for fuel or construction. The consequences are immense:
although they make up just 2 per cent of the world’s tropical forests,
mangrove forests store up to ten times more carbon. Their annual destruction results in CO2 emissions equivalent to those of 475 million
cars.

Mangrove Capital Africa is along-term initiative that started
with a ten-year programme in2017. It aims to save mangroves
and biodiversity and improve
the livelihoods of millions ofpeople living in or near mangrove forests. Activities firststarted in the Saloum Delta in
Senegal and the Rufiji Delta
in Tanzania. The emphasis is
on finding alternatives forunsustainable activities suchas conversion for agriculture
and the overexploitation ofnatural resources. This initiative involves implementing
sustainable income-generating
activities and conservation andrestoration activities with local
communities, and developing
policies and plans for improved
mangrove management together with governments and theprivate sector. Stakeholders areencouraged to take better careof the mangroves and jointly
bring this work to scale. The
strategy of Wetlands International is to move from conflict(between the various stakeholders) to cooperation by bringing
parties together, offering themknowledge-based alternatives
and exchanging best practices.

Joãozinho Sá says. Mangroves
have been cut, for example, touse as fuel, to construct boats
and to cultivate rice. The latteris done by unsustainable rotational cultivation, using slashand-burn techniques.
Increasing drought and excessive drainage have caused
rice paddies to dry up. Aftera few years the rice fields areoften abandoned and become
wastelands. The traditional
practice of letting water inafter the growing season thenstops. Once the soil dries out,
it rapidly acidifies. This resultsin the formation of cat clay, soil
infused with sulphuric acid,
which is practically infertileand unsuitable for natural mangrove regeneration. The only
way to restore these areas is torewet them again.
That is what boat trips like theone described above are about.
The inhabitants, together with
Wetlands International andpark guards, go to the abandoned rice paddies and breachthe dykes, so the water canflow in again. “This has madeit possible to re-establish thehydrological regime of thesites, facilitate the leaching of
the soil and the drainage of theacid waters, creating favourable
conditions for the mangroves togrow,” Joãozinho Sá explains.
The mangroves automatically
return, because the tide carries
their seeds. This has turned out
to be a better, easier and muchcheaper method than replanting mangrove forests.
In Cacheu Park, this approach© Menno de Boerof local community members
in small-scale restoration
plots, nothing else. We are now
scaling up these projects acrosswider coastal landscapes, on
the basis of the experiences
so far. Ultimately, we plan towork with other members of
the Global Mangrove Allianceto implement large-scaleconservation and restoration
initiatives in ten regions aroundthe world. Africa is serving as atesting ground for this.”

Disappearing mangroves

Breaching theabandoned rice
paddy dams

resulted in the recovery of 200
hectares of degraded soil. Some
2,000 people were involved.
Rewetting the abandoned ricepaddies is a method that caneasily be scaled up, according
to Pieter van Eijk. “If it’s possible to recover 200 hectares,
why not 10,000 hectares?”
The communities do not always
perceive the conservation of
the mangrove forests as being
in their best interest. Thereeven have been clashes between park guards and inhabitants wanting to cut mangroves.
The communities do see thevalue of mangroves, however,

and want to take care of theirsurroundings. The groups of
inhabitants involved in therecovery work are given a small
compensation. Since the communities are relatively poor andsometimes have little choice
but to use the ecosystem unsustainably, the most effective
way to ensure sustainability is
to offer them alternatives.

Women’s groups
One of the alternatives offeredis sustainable oyster farming.
For many years communities
cut mangrove roots to harvest
the oysters that cling on to2018 annual review 53

them, thereby killing many
mangrove trees in the process.
With support from Wetlands
International, a more sustainable technique was introduced.
Oysters are cultivated on wooden racks that are positioned in
between the mangroves. Other
alternatives are providing efficient ovens for the smoking offish, reducing fuelwood consumption, and creating small
salt pans to prevent people
from boiling salty water toextract salt.
In the Saloum Delta in Senegal,
where another 200 hectares
were restored, beekeeping has
been successfully introduced in
an attempt to fight overfishing.
All of these services and thecommunities’ return efforts
are officially agreed upon in
written contracts.
Wetlands International is not
the only party offering alternatives: the communities comeup with solutions as well. The

54 2018 annual review

Wetlands International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and WWF started the Global Mangrove Alliance
together in 2017. Its aim is to build a global community committed
to securing mangroves and protecting the important role mangrove
forests play. The alliance aims to expand mangrove coverage by 20
per cent by 2030. To achieve this, 10 regional programmes will be
implemented in 30 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, withthe help of the knowledge of thousands of mangrove experts. By
conserving and restoring mangroves the alliance will, among otherthings, increase biodiversity, decrease CO2 emissions, and improve
fisheries and coastal protection. One of the ways of achieving thisaim is to change the image of mangroves. And thisis possible, according to Pieter van Eijk of Wetlands
International: “Mangroves aren’t dirty and muddy,
they’re sexy!”
oyster racks are an example ofthis, much like the traditionalsustainable rice cultivation
techniques used outside themangrove zone. In Cacheu Parkin Guinea-Bissau, the communities were the driving force
behind the strict protection ofa part of the park’s buffer zone.
This is a holy place for them,which they wanted to protectfrom activities such as the cultivation of cashew nuts. Together
with Wetlands International
they succeeded in having an
8,000 hectare area officially declared a community-protected
forest with ancestral rights andlimited access for outsiders.

Gender and age play an important role in the communal activities. “Women rely disproportionately on the mangroves,”
Pieter van Eijk says. “Many men
go to sea to fish or have a job
outside the park. The women
are the ones that collect firewood and harvest oysters. For
the conservation and restoration of the mangrove forests
it is of vital importance to workwith women’s groups.”

Satellite images
Youth are also an important
target group. Wetlands International initiated mangrove
school clubs that perform© Waterloo

The Global Mangrove Alliance

Introducing alternative methods:
sustainable oyster
farmingtheatre pieces and assist
in mangrove restoration.
Educational talks are heldat schools and universities.
Over a dozen radio stations in
the Saloum Delta in Senegal
regularly broadcast a showon mangroves. All of this ismeant to create awarenessand long-term involvement.
“And it works,” Pieter van Eijk
says. “It spreads throughout
the community. Children
come home and explain what
they heard at school about
the importance of mangroves.
People see their neighbours
start to successfully engage inalternative activities. This is
not just restoration; we havestarted a self-propagatingsocial change movement.”
Technology is also being
used to protect the mangrove
forests. Part of the Mangrove
Capital Africa project is the
Mangrove Watch monitoring
scheme. It analyses satellite
data to map mangrove distribution and track changes
in their cover and health that
occur over time. The images
show where mangroves are
disappearing, for example due
to illegal logging, or growing, as a result of restoration
projects. Using state-of-the art
supercomputing techniques,
the project is developing areal-time monitoring system,
which detects changes as
they occur. This will help park

guards during their patrolling
activities and conservationists
on the ground who want totrack the success of their restoration projects. The satellite
observations are combinedwith so-called ‘ground truthing’: monitoring on the groundthat verifies and specifies thesatellite images. This is doneby people using binoculars andcameras and by drones. In the
coming years, this approach
will generate new maps every
two weeks, showing in detailthe gains and losses in thebattle to save the mangroves. •

Donor
		
		

Cacheu mangrove
conservation project
Turing Foundation
Mangrove Capital Africa
DOB Ecology

Partners Ibap
IUCN
WWF
The Nature Concervancy
Conservation International
Dutch National Postcode
Lottery

2018 annual review 55

Critical Site Network Tool 2.0

Seeingwetlands
changein 2050
What will wetlands look like in the year 2050? Will lakes shrink for lackof water? Will there be floods? Based on IPCC predictions, the newly
designed Critical Site Network Tool 2.0 helps to answer these questions.
To show the practical use of the tool, developer Merijn van Leeuwen of
Wetlands International takes us to the shrinking saline Lake Abijatta in
Ethiopia. And his colleague Lammert Hilarides shows us the mangroves of
Saloum Delta in Senegal.

56 2018 annual review

2018 annual review 57

Lake Shala, © Ninara• Based on climate science predictions,the Critical Sites Network 2.0 showswater flows and inundation levels in
the year 2050
• Data on birds – like the lesser flamingo– are a useful proxy for the status of
wetlands• The tool contains data about more than
3,000 wetland sites• Knowing the future gives people time
to adapt to the changes that are coming

C

limate change is bad news for wetlands.
As a general concept this may be true.
But is it true for all wetlands? And what
areas will be more affected than others?
To prepare for changes it is necessary
to know what to expect. The Critical Site Network
Tool 2.0 (CSN) does just that: it shows the current
situation of wetlands and the waterbirds breeding
and feeding there, but also what water flows andinundation levels will look like in the year 2050.
The Critical Site Network Tool 2.0 is new, also to
the wetlands experts. The tool is quickly being
expanded. “We recently developed an extra layerof data,” says Merijn van Leeuwen, one of the Wetlands International experts who helped to develop
the tool. “Besides indicating the most important
wetlands for waterbirds in Europe, Africa andthe Middle East, we can now show the predictedchanges in water flows for all rivers and lakes in
the region. On top of this, we have calculated what
the effect of climate change will be on the overalllandscape. The online tool consolidates all of thisdata and shows where changes may cause species
to disappear. When I looked at the map of Ethiopia,
a country I know well, with these new data projected onto it, I saw two dots appear in the centre of
the country. When I zoomed in, I saw that it was theBoyo Wetland. The bird destined to disappear fromthis wetland? The Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus). If the flow of water decreases by 15% or
more, as predicted, Boyo Wetland will no longer bea suitable area for this beautiful bird.”
At the office of Wetlands International in Ede, Merijn
just opened the Critical Site Network Tool 2.0. It

58 2018 annual review

Merijn van
LeeuwenLammert Hilarides

contains, among other things, a list of 290 migratory waterbirds. All the birds’ names are in Latin.
“This shows that most of us are real nerds,” Merijn
says with a smile. “For the real bird-nerd, the Latinnames suffice. In a later version of the tool we will
add the English names of the species.”
Why this focus on birds in the tool? “Birds havebeen studied for many years,” he explains. “Data on

Wetlands International collaborates closely with
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). In
2018, we continued the partnership on the climate
resilient flyways project and the redevelopment of
the Critical Site Network Tool. This collaboration
also led to the finalisation of the comprehensive
Conservation Status Review 7, that outlines thelatest status and trends of all waterbird populations in the AEWA region and development of newconservation guidelines for waterbird monitoring.
Both were formally adopted at the AEWA MOP7 in
Durban in December 2018.

Snapshot of the CSN Tool 2.0 showing the effect of climate change on freshwater flow in the
Sahel. Colours indicate relative change in freshwater flow. Reddish tones in Senegal (left)
indicate projected reduction. Bluish tones in Ethiopia (right) indicate little to no climate related
declines in fresh water flow.

birds are the most suitable and complete dataset
to detect change. They’re also a useful proxy forthe status of the wetlands as a whole.”

Dark spots
To show how the tool works, Merijn zooms in on
Ethiopia. Some thirty red and green dots appear.
The dots are all critical wetland sites: green ones
mean protected, red ones not. “Let’s go to an area
I have visited often … ah, there it is.” Merijn clicks
on a green dot just below the centre of the country:
the Abijatta–Shalla Lakes National Park. On-screen
the park appears as two large lakes on a green
background. Wetlands International has been
operating here for several years. Scrolling down
towards the list of birds living in this protected
area, one species stands out: the 151,657 individuals of the Phoeniconaias minor, better known as thelesser flamingo. This flamingo (‘near threatened’,according to the IUCN Red List) is well known
thanks to its extraordinary courtship rituals. The

dance of the flamingo has starred in some of David
Attenborough’s best documentaries. The flamingos
love the sodic alkaline water of this – and other –Rift Valley lakes: or rather, they love the algae thatproliferate there.
But how much longer will flamingos dance at Lake
Abijatta? “To see the danger that is threatening Lake
Abijatta,” Merijn says, “we should switch to satellite
imaging.” With a simple icon on the right side of
the screen, the CSN tool makes it easy to switch between map and satellite mode. A few seconds laterthe computer screen is filled with a satellite image
showing two dark spots: Lake Shalla at the bottom
and Lake Abijatta at the top of the screen. “At thenorth side of Lake Abijatta you can observe how
the shores are receding. You see? The lake used to
be almost twice the size. That was less than twenty
years ago! The water is evaporating much quicker
than fresh water is flowing in. Now zoom out again
and we can see the origin of the problem: Lake
Ziway, some 30 kilometres north of Abijatta.”

2018 annual review 59

Mori Diallo

Team lead and ecologist(Wetlands International Sahel)Four square kilometres of roses
Lake Ziway is one of the few bodies of fresh waterin the Ethiopian part of the Rift Valley, Merijn
explains. People have settled around its shores.
Food security is a big problem in this part of theworld, and the people living on its shores haveno alternative but to draw water from the lake.
“It is estimated that over 5,000 water pumps are
draining the lake!” Merijn says. “But it’s not justsmall farmers. Wait, I can show you: Let’s zoom
in on the south-western side of the lake. See thislight coloured square construction? These are hugegreenhouses, owned by a Dutch rose grower: overfour square kilometres of roses growing thanks to
the water in Lake Ziway.”
Just beside the Dutch-owned greenhouse, the Bulbula River starts. This river gets its water from Lake
Ziway and delivers it into Abijatta. At least that iswhat is supposed to happen. But a weir has been
built in Bulbula River to keep water levels high at
Lake Ziway. “Increasingly, less water is allowed
to flow into Lake Abijatta.” The lesser flamingo isquickly losing its feeding grounds.
The new tool was developed in collaboration withthe universities of Kassel, Wisconsin-Madison and
McGill and BirdLife International, and its development was coordinated by the Rubicon Foundation.
It contains data about more than 3,000 wetland
sites in the African-Eurasian flyway, stretchingfrom the arctic parts of Russia and eastern Canada
all the way to the South African Cape.
Water flow and temperature data are based on
predictions made by the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC). The universities have

60 2018 annual review

Water allocation plan
In the case of the Abijatta–Shalla Lakes National
Park, Wetlands International engages local farmers
to reduce the use of water. To assist local stakeholders to achieve this, Wetlands International
cooperates with the local basin authority, farmers’organisations, ministries and local industries. This
has resulted in a project where the key parties haveagreed to jointly develop a water allocation plan,
while improving farmers’ livelihoods.

‘downscaled’ the IPCC’s data to the level of individual watersheds. This was necessary because
predictions of rainfall in the wetland area do not exactly predict future freshwater flows. Water flows in
wetlands often depend on precipitation or melting
ice in mountainous areas far away. With a simple
mouse click, the CSN tool shows water flows andinundation levels in the year 2050 for any specificwetland.
To show how this works, Merijn van Leeuwen goesback to the Ethiopia map. “See this black dialogue
box on the left side of the screen? When we turnon the ‘freshwater flow’ switch, we see the averageannual flow of fresh water. Now lets go to the year
2050. See what happens: nothing! This shows thatthe problems in Lake Abijatta are not a result of climatic changes. So there is no need to take measuresfor climate adaptation to protect the national park.
Instead something must be done about the unlimited agricultural use of fresh water.”
So Lake Abijatta in Ethiopia will not be affected byclimate change in the medium term at least. Let us

go to an area where climate change
is expected to cause serious effects.
Lammert Hilarides, another developer of the CSN tool, shows what the
Saloum Delta in Senegal will look
like in 2050. Looking at this site, justnorth of Gambia, on the CSN tool,
the future problems become clear
as we engage the switch to show
the change in freshwater flows in
2050. On-screen, the whole areaturns reddish, indicating a 10% to100% decrease in fresh water flows.
“Looking at this map, you know thatthe vast mangrove areas along the
Senegalese coast will be facing trouble in the coming decades. And thiswill have dire consequences for thepeople living there. They depend
mostly on fishing. But as soon as
the mangroves cease to function as
breeding grounds, the fish population will suffer. The CSN tool allows
us to take a look into a possible future. This gives people time to adapt
to the changes that are coming.” •DonorsInternational Climate Initiative (IKI)
UNEP-AEWA

Partners McGill University		
University of Wisconsin-Madison		
Kassel University		
Birdlife International
		
Rubicon Foundation

Who is Mori Diallo?
“My name is Mori Diallo. I am team leader in Wetlands
International Sahel office, based in Inner Niger Delta. The
Inner Niger delta is the biggest wetland system at theborder of the Sahara desert. We work with local communities and other stakeholders to improve their livelihoods
within the wetland ecosystem.”
What is your biggest personal work achievement in 2018?
“Bourgou vegetation (Echinochloa stagnina, also known as
Hippo Grass) is crucial for the livelihoods of pastoralists
and fishermen in the Inner Niger Delta. Wetlands International managed to restore 110 ha of bourgou and monitored both biodiversity and fish production, despite thegrowing insecurity in the region. Loss of livelihoods hascaused clashes between local communities. For security
reasons, most of the NGOs have left the area. I am proudthat Wetlands International is still active here, promoting
peace by restoring the bourgou.”
What do you like about working at Wetlands International?
“Wetlands International contributes to reach my personalmotto: ‘All natural resources must serve several generations.’ To reach this goal, Wetlands International develops
tools, builds knowledge, takes advocacy measures andinitiates new approaches for a sustainable use and conservation of natural resources. ”
What do you hope to achieve in 2019?
“One of our most ambitious projects is the ‘Critical Sites
and Climate Resilient Flyway’ project, aiming to restore
1,500 hectares of bourgou and 75 hectares of flooded
forest. We hope to get the commitment of seven key
stakeholders to carry out these activities. ”
•2018 annual review 61

• The Vjosa is one of the last wild rivers
in Europe, hardly interrupted by humaninterventions• 2,800 hydro power plants are projectedin the Balkan, forty of them in the Vjosa
river basin• One of the goals of Save the Blue Heart ofEurope is to create awareness among civilsociety• A specific goal for the Vjosa river basin is
to establish Europe’s First Transboundary
Wild River Park here

A wild anduntouchedqueen
62 2018 annual review

Crystal clear and remarkably light blue water, gorges andcanyons, shores scattered with wild flowers, stoneflies,
eels, greater flamingos… Overlooking the Vjosa river it ishard to believe that this is 2019 and even harder that thisis Europe. But it is: the Vjosa runs through Albania, andsprings in Greece, where it is called Aóos.
Theresa Schiller‘T

he queen of European rivers’ and‘Europe’s unknown
wild jewel’ are twoof the Vjosa’s nicknames. “Thatis because it is one of the lastwild rivers in Europe”, Theresa
Schiller of German NGO EuroNatur explains. “It is not interrupted by human interventions
like channels or dams, withthe exception of one near the

Greek springs.” For a river ofthis size - almost 300 kilometres long, together with its tributaries covering about 7,000
km2 - this is unique in Europe.
It is not a coincidence that the
Vjosa flows on the Balkan, as
this peninsula is home to mostof the wildest rivers of Europe.
80 percent of the Balkan rivers
is still in a relatively untamed
or even pristine state, building

the so called Blue Heart of Europe. In Germany, for example,
this is less than 10 percent.

Flotilla
But all this beauty is severely threatened. No less than
2,800 hydro power plants areprojected in the region. A map
to be found here is literally
littered with black, yellow
and red dots, representing all

2018 annual review 63

Vjosa at Tepelene © Christian Baumgartner

Albanian Vjosa river is at the heart of wild river campaign

No less than 2,800
hydro power plants areprojected in the Balkan

64 2018 annual review

for the first time.” Other teammembers had this experiencealready several times, forexample during the flotilla thatsailed the river in 2016. Organised by the campaign and led
by former Slovenian Olympic
athlete Rok Rozman, kayakers
from all over Europe paddled
23 rivers in six Balkan countries, starting with the Sava
in Slovenia and ending at the
Vjosa in Albania. The overall
goal of the tour was to draw theattention to the attack on Europe’s blue heart, and the Vjosain particular. A kayak with aprint of a petition asking for theprotection of the Vjosa, signed
by people that joined the tour,
was handed over to Albania’s
prime minister Edi Rama. Ulrike
Lunacek, vice-president of theEuropean Parliament at thattime, supported the action.

Powerful tool
The flotilla was part of one of
the strategies of the Save theBlue Heart of Europe campaign:
creating awareness. This strategy operates on the international and national level as well ason the local level, since people
living in the river basin werepoorly informed in the past.
Among the campaign activities
was the making of a movie in
2018, Blue Heart, financed by
Patagonia, the outdoor gearcompany. The movie, emphasizing the opposition of local
communities to the ’selling’of their rivers for hydropower generation, was shown inEurope, the United States andJapan. Also Wetlands International – European Association
was a co-organizer of the first
European River Summit, held in
Sarajevo. together with a public© Roland Dorozhani

sorts of plants. Even nationalparks and stretches known tohost the endangered Danube
Salmon are included. The plans
would mean a serious attackon biodiversity and the loss of
thousands of square kilometers of valuable and beautiful
landscape.
That’s why, in 2013, EuroNatur a member of Wetlands International’s European Association- and Riverwatch, started theinternational campaign ‘Save
the Blue Heart of Europe’. It
aims to stop the dam projects.
The Vjosa/Aóos, which – together with its tributaries – isthreatened by about forty power plants, is the proud flagshipof the campaign.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t beenable to sail the river yet”,
Theresa Schiller of EuroNaturlaughs. “In June, I hope I willconcert. Broad media coverage
was among the results. ‘The
environmental battle to savethe Blue Heart of Europe’, The
Telegraph headlined for example on 20 April 2018.
Another strategy followed isthe legal one. Local NGOs like
EcoAlbania file complaints
against the hydro power plants
with the help of EuroNatur andRiverwatch. On the international level, the Bern Convention on
the Conservation of European
Wildlife and Natural Habitats isused to stop the development
plans. This led to an on-thespot appraisal in June 2018 byrepresentatives and expertsof the convention. “As a result
the Standing Committee of theBern Convention emphasised
the need for suspending theplanned hydropower projects
at the Vjosa until the necessary
strategic planning and additional assessments are carried out.
In total, the Bern Convention
sent twelve recommendations
to the Albanian government,”
Theresa Schiller says.
EcoAlbania, EuroNatur, RiverWatch and Wetlands International – European Association
are partners trying to protect
the Vjosa as Europe’s first Wild
Rivers National Park. Wetlands
International is using its pres-ence in Brussels and experience
with EU Directives and international conventions to help
ensure that environmental laws
are adhered to and the Vjosa
remains free flowing. Albania is
on track to entering the European Union, but still has to meetmany requirements, among
them ecological ones. “This canbe a reason for refusal, so thisis a powerful tool on the longrun”, Theresa Schiller comments.

Vivid debate
Empowering local stakeholders is the third strategy. “Civil
society in Albania – and more2018 annual review 65

Dushyant Mohil
Programme Manager &Country Lead PfR(Wetlands International South Asia)© Gernot Kunz

Who is Dushyant Mohil?
“I am a programme manager at Wetlands International
South Asia, based in New Delhi. One of the programmes I
deal with is Partners for Resilience (PfR). PfR contributes tothe resilience of communities by promoting ‘integrated risk
management’, blending climate change adaptation withecosystem management and reduction of disaster risks. ”

or less the entire Balkans – ismuch less experienced thanin countries like Germany”,
according to Theresa Schiller.
“People were not used to raising their voice for decades andwere afraid of being arrested.
Therefore, we organise capacity building, provide and fundplaces to meet and money for
travelling for the Friends of Vjosa. This is crucial for the work
there. As a result, they growevery time more confident andless frightened.”
A fourth strategy is closing theknowledge gaps. This is mainly
done by involving scientists.
“None of the plans for thehydro power plants we know is
accompanied by appropriate,
comprehensive and reliable impact studies”, analyses Schiller.

66 2018 annual review“Hence, the responsible Albanian authority for issuing theenvironmental permit to theprojects claims that there is noevidence of specific ecologicalvalues, and issues the permits.
So we decided to start gathering those data ourselves. We
have sent several scientific missions to the region for that purpose. We also intend to collect
more socioeconomic data on
the economic wins and lossesof the plants; what you would
miss out on tourism if the plansproceed, for example.”
The fifth and final strategy is
to establish Europe’s First Wild
River Transboundary National
Park. In Europe, this kind ofparks does not exist yet, so
the first step is to develop avision accompanied by various

assessments in order to comeup with a management plan,followed by a financial model at
a later stage. After having had
some vivid debate about themost desirable form, EuroNatur,Riverwatch and partners arepushing for the first assessments now. The suggestion toalso attract private money, forexample from companies like
Patagonia, is welcomed enthusiastically by Theresa Schiller:“Good idea! We will consider it
when we will reach the phaseof designing a financial modelfor the park!”
•Further reading• Eco-masterplan for the Balkan rivers• Recommendations of the Bern
Convention• Scientific publication on Vjosa

What is your biggest personal work achievement in 2018
“My proudest moment in 2018 was when one of our casestudies on sustainable community-based disaster risk management – , A PfR perspective – was selected among thebest practices in Asia by the Asian Disaster Preparedness
Centre. We helped creating ‘disaster risk reduction committees’ in Odisha, a state in eastern India that is increasingly
exposed to extreme weather events such cyclones, flooding
and coastal inundation. The committees play an importantrole in early warning, in smooth evacuation and rehabilitation. ”
What do you like about working at Wetlands International?
“As the last century was built by engineers and scientists ofall kinds, the 21st century will need specialists with a global vision and consciousness for the environment. Wetlands
International is a place where such specialists come together. That is exciting. We work with communities to sustain
and revitalise the most vital ecosystems in the world.”
What do you hope to achieve in 2019?
“I hope to build more evidence to strengthen the role ofwetlands for disaster risk reduction, to promote wetland
conservation and management with national and state governments. In 2019 I also hope to engage more with private
sector networks. ”
•2018 annual review 67

Lea Appulo

Wetlands fora Safer World

policy and advocacy
officer(Wetlands International
European Association)

With 1 million from theDutch Postcode Lottery...

Who is Lea Appulo?
“I joined the Brussels office, right at the start: June
2016. My main task, together with my colleagues, isto promote the recognition of the role of wetlands forpeople and nature in EU policies. Right now the EU is in
the process of deciding on the 2020-2027 budget. If wemanage to make wetlands a priority, there will be more
funds available for our projects worldwide.”

Update on investments and outcomes in2018
Wetlands International was awarded a 1 million
euro grant in 2018 to invest over a three year period, ending in 2020. In the introductory meetingwith the Dutch National Postcode Lottery, thefollowing proposition was shared:
We will leverage investments and actions torealise our ambition - in turn benefiting people
and nature. We will use the grant mainly as “seedfinance”: i.e. to enable several of our Big Ideas(big scale, long-term impactful programmes) to be
developed and implemented. In addition, we will
also invest in measures which help Wetlands International to raise wetlands higher on the agenda
and also take steps to improve our institutional
capacity and financial resilience.
In 2018 we invested € 457,011 of the grant. The
breakdown is included in the financial annex ofthis report. Here we summarise how we targetedthese investments.
Wetlands, Peace and Security: The grant enabled
Wetlands International to bring our message on
the links between wetlands, peace and human
68 2018 annual review

security to a wider audience. We stimulated a
global policy dialogue on potential “environmental peace-building” solutions, plus developed new
partnerships and programmes which will demonstrate solutions in the Sahel, Africa.
Building with Nature: The investment enabled acoordinated engagement in the Dutch government
programme Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities
in Asia. This has resulted in collaboration with thecities of Chennai (India), Khulna (Bangladesh) andSemarang (Indonesia) to tackle urban water-related challenges in an innovative and inclusive way,
as well as to identify opportunities for collaboration on Building with Nature in Kerala, India, Peru
and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Peatland Treasures: We developed an upscaling
plan for Indonesian Peatland Partnership Fund including scalable business models for communities
for sustainable use of peatlands.

Mangrove Capital: The investment has enabled Wetlands International to co-foundand launch the Global Mangrove Alliance
together with WWF, IUCN, Conservation
International and TNC: a large-scale partnership effort that aims to increase global
mangrove cover by 20% by 2030.
Wetlands 2020: We invested in working
with an environmental journalist to bring
together stories connecting wetlands andtheir peoples, ready for publishing a landmark book, that will help raise attention
for wetlands in the post-2020 biodiversity agenda.
Institutional development: We researchedand selected a new financial system for
the Global Office and supported offices
in Africa, South Asia and Indonesia toimprove governance, personnel development and operational systems. •A detailed account of our investments isavailable here.

What’s your biggest personal work result of 2018?
“For me it was a huge success that we were invited toa brainstorm session on wetlands organized by theinternational development directorate (DEVCO) of the
EU. That was when I realized that our work in the last 2,5years has paid off: our organisation is seen as a major
player and wetlands are a growing priority for the EU.”
What’s the nicest thing about working at Wetlands
International?
“You know, I am not a wetland specialist: I studied
diplomatic relations. But working here, I have grown
to love wetlands. To know that my work here may help
preserving them is my main driving force.”
What do you want to achieve in 2019?
“In 2019 the EU will be negotiating a renewal of theso-called Cotonou Agreement; that is the most comprehensive partnership agreement between developing
countries and the EU. Much of the focus is on infrastructure, job creation, youth. What I want in 2019 is toinclude the importance of wetlands and biodiversity inthe new legal framework of this agreement.”
•2018 annual review 69

Achievements

Our scoring system

Summary
Below we assess our achievements in 2018, placing
this in the context of 5-year targets set within thefive Streams of work identified in our Strategic Intent
2015-2020. These achievements are the result of ourentire office network and most involve the actions ofseveral offices acting together and in collaboration withmany other partners. We focus on those achievements
in which Wetlands International’s contribution was
instrumental.
Overall, we can report that there is significant progress
made in all Streams towards the targets. We are on
track to achieve our ambitions or even to exceed thoseresults in eight out of the twelve targets by 2020. The
greatest steps forward have been made in developing
and implementing integrated programmes to safeguard
and revive some of the world’s most significant wetlands for the dual purpose of biodiversity conservation and human well-being. We also made big strides
towards upscaling successful pilot innovations, such asin rehabilitating peatlands as well as in gaining recognition and take up of the Building with Nature approachin deltas and large-scale urban flood and coastal
defence schemes. For four of our targets, we predictthat a longer time-scale will be needed to achieve ourambitions, due to a variety of reasons. The resourcing
and development of programmes for restoring major
floodplains and for our work in high altitude wetlands
has taken longer than anticipated, while it is now
developing quickly and strongly. In the Sahel, the risingsocial conflicts have held back our ability to act. The
results also cause us to reflect that we have, so far, been
more successful in working to change the approach to
production in particular landscapes than in influencing
different sectors (e.g. palm oil and pulp, rice, aquaculture) overall.
70 2018 annual review

On track to exceed target (we willachieve the target before 2020)

We expect to achieve
the target by 2020

Substantial progress, more timerequired to reach our target

So far, there is no significant
overall progress

HEALTHY WETLAND NATURE

Target			Habitat improvements were gained in four iconic wetland
eco-regions (Paraguay-Paraná fluvial corridor, Andean
lakes, West and East African mangrove ecoregions), while
work has commenced in a further two (Yellow Sea coast in
China and Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia). The conservation offlagship species of waterbirds is anticipated in future years
through our work in these wetlands and in “flyway bottlenecks”.
To assist waterbird species conservation, important
new insights on effects from climate change on populations and wetlands in the African-Eurasian Flyway were
published, guiding priorities for work in the flyway andexisting initiatives in Ethiopia, Mali, Oman and Northwest
Africa.

Halt and reverse the loss of
wetland habitat and species
The extent and quality ofhabitat has been improved in
5 iconic wetland ecoregions
worldwide and the conservation status of 10 flagshipspecies has been improved.

Our work with governments and private sector companies
in Indonesia, Uganda, Malaysia and Russia helped influence
investments in developments with an impact on wetlands.
Companies are now engaged or investing in wetland initiatives in Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Philippines.
We consolidated our engagement with the dredging andhydraulic engineering sector around the sustainability of
their approaches, including their carbon footprint. Acceptance of Building with Nature approaches increased inseveral large-scale urban planning processes, including
Panama city, Semarang and Manila (see also Vibrant Coasts& Deltas)
A Paludiculture platform was set-up in Indonesia which
will engage and inform companies to accelerate transition
to commercial production on undrained peatlands, as analternative to conventional palm oil and pulp production(see also Peatland Treasures).

Investment in wetlands as
Natural Capital
Showcase public and private
investments in wetlands as
Natural Capital deliver sustainable development.

The situation is deteriorating and we
can’t manage to make improvements

2018 annual review 71

VIBRANT COASTS & DELTAS

Target			BLUE LIFELINES IN THE DESERTTargetWe on track to achieve or even exceed this target in theimplementation of coastal wetland conservation strategies including in Cacheu (Guinea-Bissau), Saloum- Niumi(Senegal and Gambia) and the Rufiji- Mafia-Kilwa seascape(Tanzania). The number of hectares that we seek to influence greatly exceeds the target, while some implementation measures are recently introduced. New projects havebeen designed for upscaling in the coming years under the
Global Mangrove Alliance and Mangrove Capital Africa.

Maintain intact coastal wetland
environments
3 High value coastal wetlands
totalling at least 150,000 hectares are conserved and restored.

The development of civil society and government capacity
in the Inner Upper Niger / Inner Niger Delta, Ewaso Ng’iro,
Upper Sourou sub-basins and Central Rift Valley Lakes
in Ethiopia continued and helped to develop dialogues
around water management, fisheries and infrastructuredevelopment. This is helping to safeguard wetland systems and empowering civil society and communities toenhance the resilience of their livelihoods.
Despite positive engagement with government, instability
in the region and some of our sites makes reaching thegoal of achieving improved status by 2020 challenging.

Blue Lifelines in the Desert
Improved status of at least 3
major wetland systems in the
Sahel, as part of efforts toachieve sustainable and climate resilient development.

This target has been partially addressed as part of broader
landscape programmes rather than through sector specificinitiatives. In Demak, Indonesia and Cacheu, Guinea-Bissau
we introduced organic agriculture and rice farming practices which reduced the pressure on mangroves and substantially enhanced productivity, improving the resilience of
local communities.

Sustainable coastal production
systems
A model for integrated wetland
landscape management involving conservation and production systems (rice, oil-palm andaquaculture) is implemented in
2 areas, contributing to environmental and food security.

REPLENISHED WATER STORES FROM MOUNTAINSTO SEA			

We took several steps towards mainstreaming Building
with Nature in several large-scale urban planning processes, including Panama City, Semarang, Chennai and Manila.
We also started work to expand this work through aregional initiative in Asia on Building with Nature andglobally through sectoral dialogues. This offers a prospect
to reach beyond the target.

Degraded coastlines and heavily
modified environments, including urban areas
Building with Nature is mainstreamed in 3 landmark urban
planning and hydraulic infrastructure developments, enhancing community resilience.

There is substantial progress in our high-altitude wetlands
programme, while we are at early stages so the target
will be reached in the coming years. Community basedsustainable development plans, wetland restoration anddialogue with mining companies are being implemented
in Pozuelos Lagoon and Lake Junín, internationally important sites in the Andes. A second phase programme proposal to include a further 3 sites and develop the basis for aregional programme submitted. In the Himalayan regiona programme is under development and anticipated tocommence in 2019.

Save and restore mountainwater towers
Investments in restorationand sustainable managementof high altitude wetlands in 2
ecoregions committed to by
governments and International
Finance Institutions.

We are on track to meet and are likely to exceed our target.
Major programmes in Africa, Latin America and South-East
Asia helped strengthen capacities of civil society for dialogue and engagement with government and private sector.
Action leveraged commitments and investments in
Laguna de Guanacache, Argentina, in Agusan River basin insouthern Philippines and in India in Odisha delta wetlands
systems, floodplains in Bihar, mountain wetlands in
Uttarakhand and urban wetlands in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
In addition, engagement in another 5 watersheds wereable to influence policy dialogue.

Water and food secure wetlandcommunities
Public and private investmentcommitments in 6 watersheds
to safeguard and restore freshwater wetlands as measures forwater and food security.

We continued to influence coastal zone and delta management trajectories, including along the Java North coast,
Indonesia and Manila Bay, The Philippines, Parana delta(Argentina), Rufiji delta (Tanzania), Saloum delta (Senegal
and Gambia), Mahanadi delta (India) and Panama Bay.
We commenced a programme for the Yellow Sea coast of
China.

72 2018 annual review

Integrated management ofdeltasHealthy ecosystems sustain
human populations and biodiversity in 10 key deltas acrossthe world

2018 annual review 73

REPLENISHED WATER STORES FROM MOUNTAINSTO SEA

TargetOur portfolio grew healthily, though it is unlikely we willreach the level of investments we envisage for landscape-scale floodplain restoration by 2020.
Positive steps were taken in river floodplain programmesthat aim to change and increase the investment in wetlands: in the Kosi floodplains in Bihar, India where 500k
Euro from government programs has been leveraged forfloodplain restoration; and the Parana – Paraguay rivercorridor in Argentina and Brazil with the start of a major
new programme and through a new programme in the
Cagayan D’Oro basin in the Philippines.

Floodplains for safety andsecurity
Public and private investmentcommitments for 3 flagshiplandscape scale floodplain
restoration programmes

PEATLAND TREASURES

Target			Our policy influencing focused in 4 key peatland regionsin Indonesia, Mongolia, Russia and Europe will enable thistarget to be reached. Peatlands were included as relevant
to climate change mitigation and adaptation in the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Indonesia andMongolia, as well as in a roadmap towards national reporting on peatlands by the Russian Federation. Less positively
follow-up in Mongolia has been weak and in Indonesia
there was increased uncertified pulpwood production inpart on intact peatland areas. Indonesia enforced morestrongly the moratorium on the expansion of oil palm on
peatlands. Plus the RSPO accepted the Drainability Assessment Guidelines which we developed and these are now
an integral part of the Principles & Criteria. Work on peatland restoration in Russia was expanded to include valuesof eco-system services of peatlands in Russia, building on
previous work on haze and fire mitigation plans.

Protect and conserve the remaining intact peatlands
Governments and key private sector actors (drivers ofconversion) in at least 4 key
peatland regions have active
policies to avoid the development, conversion and degradation of intact peatlands.

74 2018 annual review

TargetThis target will be reached through influencing others andby upscaling existing pilots. We established the Indonesian Peatland Partnership Fund to support actively theIndonesian Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) on the 3-R(Rewetting, Revegetation, Revitalization) of 2.4 million
hectares of degraded peatlands. The first phase selected
10 communities and restored over 16 000 ha of degradedpeatlands with scope for accelerated upscaling in 2019.
The private sector took an increased interest to participate in peatland restoration. We started the first steps
to collaborate with a major oil palm company to assist
them in restoration of drained and degraded peatlands.
In Russia we enabled effective rewetting over 60,000 haof degraded peatlands and decreasing fire vulnerability
within more than 80 000 ha, with an estimated total of
333,590 t CO2eq per annum emission reductions.

Rehabilitate and restore
degraded peatlands
Governments and key (peatland based) private sector
invest in at least 5 peatland
regions have reversed thedegradation of over 3 million hectares of degradedpeatlands (7% of the global
area of degrading peatlands)
achieving substantial GHG
emission reductions.

This target will be reached over a longer timescale since
while there are many community-based pilots, the active
participation of governments and private sector in paludiculture is lagging behind. We initiated a Paludiculture
Platform to stimulate research and implementation of wet
agricultural land use as an effective alternative to retain
productivity on degraded peatlands while combatting
subsidence and peat fires. The platform is linked to the
newly established International Tropical Peatland Centre in Bogor. Under the Indonesian Peatland Partnership
Fund, we supported community-based sustainable landuse on re-wetted peatlands. In the Netherlands we joineda cross-sectoral dialogue on restoring degraded Dutch
peatlands as part of international efforts to reduce GHG
emissions, while addressing increasing economic costs ofland subsidence.

Develop and promote sustainable land-use on re-wetted peatlands
Governments and key (peatland based) private sector(e.g. palm oil, pulp for paper,
biofuels) as well as local communities are actively piloting
or upscaling paludiculture
as an innovative means forsustainable and peatland
landscape management andclimate change mitigation.
populations and biodiversity
in 10 key deltas across theworld

2018 annual review 75

Mori Diallo talking to local
communities in the Inner
Niger Delta (Mali) about the
management of bourgou,
a native grass species

76 2018 annual review

2018 annual review 77

Summary of
Functioning andorganisation

Summary of
Finance andresourcing

Wetlands International is an independent global
network organisation of 21 offices which implement a joint Strategic Intent and adhere to acommon set of organisational policies.
Wetlands International has two complementary
forms of governance: an Association of
37 Members, and a Supervisory Council1 that also
constitutes the Board of the Association.

Wetlands International focusses its work where wetlands
matter most to both people and nature. Our programmes
and initiatives are developed to meet our strategic goals
which are set out in our Strategic Intent and are organised into five streams. Our programs are increasingly
large scale and long-term, involving trans-boundary
and trans-continental work with involvement of several
offices. The Global Office and the Network Offices work
together for resource development with Network Offices
increasingly being financed directly by donors. Our funding model revolves around leveraging greater investmentusing very little initial flexible funds to bring together
actors and develop small pilot projects.

The 10-year Strategic Intent (2015-25) provides
direction for the Wetlands International network
and is reviewed every 5 years and adjusted in consultation with members and stakeholders.
The strength of the Wetlands International network is more than the sum-total of its Offices.
Through working with influential partners, donors
and members and by connecting with network ofexpertise, we achieve more results towards ourStrategic intent.
Despite our best endeavours we also makemistakes. As well as recognizing and learningfrom these, Wetlands International has an official
complaints procedure which is available on thewebsite.
Wetlands International strives to act in her daily
operations in a sustainable and socially responsible way. In our Global Office based in the Netherlands, we stimulate our employees to use public
transport and all flights booked are compensatedfor CO2 emissions (387 tonnes in 2018).

78 2018 annual review

1 The tasks the Supervisory Council are defined in the Articles of
Association of the Foundation Wetlands International

See the detailed
report of theorganisation andfinances here

Our funding model to leverage investment
Using very little flexible funds, we are able tobring actors together and develop small pilot
projects, which in turn leverage larger programmes supported by finances of partners
and additional donors. Our program results
allow us to leverage larger scale public andprivate sector investment in wetlands.
2018 annual review 79

Colophon

From theSupervisory
Council2018 was a very interesting year for the Supervisory Council and Board of Association. While wesadly had to cancel a General Members Meeting inIndia since many members found it inconvenient
to travel and participate, we were able to use theopportunity of the Ramsar Convention COP13 inDubai to organize an event for our members andpartners, expecting that many would be present
there. This worked out very well and we had a fantastic meeting under the stars, in I think the bestvenue in Dubai. We also were able to award theprestigious Wetlands International Luc Hoffmann
medal to Prof. Guangchun Lei and to surprise ourEastern Africa team with the first “best Wetlands
International team” award. Many influential
people from the global wetlands community took
part in the event and engaged with the Wetlands
International team, who shared some of theirexperiences and passion with short interventions
during the evening. During the COP itself we wereable to interest the Dubai City Authority to give
us an assignment to generate a Management Planfor the amazing Ras al Khor wetland. This displayof trust in our capacities to accomplish something
in this extremely difficult site is heartwarming.
In October the Supervisory Council visited the Saloum delta in Senegal to hold our regular Council
and Board of Association meetings - and also to
see and be inspired by our Mangrove Capital Africa programme through a field visit. We could givesomething back to the regional team in dialogue
following the visit, sharing ideas and expertise.
80 2018 annual review

Wetlands International
P.O. Box 471
6700 AL Wageningen
The Netherlands
Website: www.wetlands.org
post@wetlands.org

fin

Texts: Menno Bosma and Roeland Muskens (Wereld in
Woorden, Global Research& Reporting, Haarlem, theNetherlands), Fred Pearce & Wetlands International
Final edits: Mark Speer (Speer Publications)
Design and lay out: Gijsbert Raadgever (Akimoto,Amersfoort, the Netherlands)
The Supervisory Council &Management Team with local
leaders, Saloum Delta, Senegal

Of course, we paid our respects to the local andregional authorities and appreciated their politicalsupport for our work.
With thankfulness we said goodbye to Prof. Dr.
Noelle Aarts who has been a dedicated SC/BoA
member since 2011 and who has helped andchallenged Wetlands International to strive forcommunications excellence at all scales. The
Council also decided to refresh the SC/BoA withsome additional members who we anticipate will
join in 2019.
Points of consideration in our meetings were also
the developments in some offices, the extension
and renewal of the Management Team of the
Global Office and the new IT systems that areneeded. We are very content with the impact of

the targeted investments in 2018, including the firstinvestments from the €1 million Euro grant received
from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery. This has
resulted in some significant steps being taken in termsof leveraging bigger and more impactful programmes,
new partnerships, greater emphasis on strategic communications and institutional strengthening, which
is helping the overall functionality and impact of ourglobal network organisation.

André van der Zande
Chair

Photo credits:
Cover Photo: Harvesting Purun grass,
South Sumatra (Yani Saloh)Alan Chamorro
Arno Kangeri
Christian Baumgartner
Francisco Firpo LacosteFrank Hoffman
Jan van de Kam
Jane Madgwick
Kalpana Ambastha
Kerstin Sauer
Lammert Hilarides
Melton Antony
Menno de Boer
NinaraPetra Meijer
Purnanshi
Roberto Elias
Roland Dorozhani
Sander Carpay
Taej Mundkur
Waterloo
Yani Saloh
Yayasan Puter
Yayasan Elang2018 annual review 81© Yani Saloh

Sundjung protected lake,
Bunut Hilir, West Kalimantan